Shrouded in a black hood typical of mourning, this unidentified sitter likely represents a widow. Her high social standing is indicated by the delicately scalloped lace edges of her hood and starched linen collar, both expensive materials. Noted on the fictitious stone frame at upper right, the sitter was 55 at the time Mary Beale painted her portrait. The oval frame is a common device in Beale’s bust-length portraits, commissions that earned her considerable sums at the height of her career. As England’s most successful women portraitist active in the 17th century, Beale supported her family with the assistance of her husband Charles, who helped with materials preparation and tracked the business accounts.