Mrs Wilson is shown wearing black, in mourning after the death of her husband, a Paisley gauze manufacturer. Grief might explain her watery eyes, but her faraway expression might simply be the artist faithfully recording the effect of the sitter's glass eye (her left?). This is one of Skirving's most sensitive and accomplished pastel portraits, with beautifully observed detail and a real sense of character. The Wilsons had ten children, one of whom was the famous author and philsopher, Professor John Wilson, who wrote under the name 'Christopher North'.