Gainsborough was a contemporary of Reynolds; both specialised in portraits of the British aristocracy. Grandeur was key, in content and form, and the portraits were usually full-length. He was also an accomplished landscape painter, and here the young woman is framed by the backdrop of a romantically leafy landscape garden. Joshua Reynolds also painted Lady Eardley, married to Sampson Gideon, a banker who had been knighted the Baron Eardley.