 Youth on the Prow , and Pleasure at the Helm was purchased at the time of its exhibition by Robert Vernon for his important collection of British art . ( The price Vernon paid for Youth and Pleasure is not recorded , although Etty 's <unk> records a partial payment of £ 250 — about £ 21 @,@ 000 in 2016 terms — so it is likely to have been a substantial sum . ) Vernon later purchased John Constable 's The Valley Farm , planning to hang it in the place then occupied by Youth and Pleasure . This decision caused Constable to comment " My picture is to go into the place — where Etty 's " <unk> " is at present — his picture with its precious freight is to be brought down nearer to the nose . " Vernon presented his collection to the nation in 1847 , and his 157 paintings , including Youth and Pleasure , entered the National Gallery . 
