Here, Joshua Johnson depicted Susanna Livina Harlen House, one of his neighbors on High Street in present-day Little Italy, Baltimore. Her lace bonnet and neck ruff, the section of lace she holds, and the basket of lace—with a pair of red-handled scissors peeking out—suggest she was a lacemaker. The silver chains dangling from her waist are part of a chatelaine, which women wore to keep tools or keys nearby. Born to an enslaved mother and purchased and freed by his white father in 1782, Johnson was one of the first known professional Black painters in the United States. The artist frequently painted his neighbors and friends. Unlike many of his white peers, he did not travel widely in search of clients. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 limited travel for even free Black Americans, who risked abduction.