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The sitter was the daughter of John Drummond, Duke of Melfort, one of James II’s principal councillors in exile in San-Germain-en-Laye and his Secretary of State. Lady Mary was married there in 1710 to the Count of Castelblanco. She died in 1713. It is thought that this is a posthumous portrait, painted to form a pair with that of her husband.
The sitter was born in Lima in 1665 and was a leading figure in the court in exile of James II, former king of England and Scotland. He married three times, the second time in 1710 to Mary Drummond, depicted in the portrait that forms a pair to this one. The work reveals the influence of his master’s Largillierre’s dazzling portraits. The coat-of-arms of the sitter’s family is visible at the lower
