Catherine Jones was the cousin of Richard Wilson. This portrait was taken when the artist was beginning his successful career and it marks a high point in his classic portrait style, which combined a traditional technique with an understanding of the personality depicted. Wilson is acknowledged as one of the architects of the British style in grand landscape. He learnt high art from the study of masters in collections in Britain and in Italy. Wilson brought a particular sense of history to his compositions which give the paintings a universality. He pioneered Welsh landscape painting and exhibited the mountain scenery of Snowdon and Cader Idris to great acclaim. This portrait has a certain pathos: in the last year of his life, Wilson returned to Wales and was nursed until his death by Catherine.