Portrait of a lady, three-quarter length, in a black dress, leaning on a chair

Several elements of the sitter’s dress date the portrait to circa 1619, including the yellow hue of the lace collar and cuffs, an effect created using a saffron dye that was fashionable at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The high waistline, tip-up lace collar and narrow open sleeves are all comparable to those in a full-length portrait of Lady Aston (c. 1620-3; London, Tate Britain). Also typical of this date is the sitter’s loose hairstyle, fuller and brushed over the ears and flatter on the crown, which allows her cap - probably made of wired lace and linen - to sit forwards on her head.

In the past, the portrait has been variously given to Gortzius Geldorp, Paulus Moreelse and Cornelius Johnson, and associated with Daniel Mytens and William Larkin, reflecting both the evident influences of Netherlandish and English portraiture and the difficulty of attributing the painting to a secure hand.