The woman depicted in this work is thought to be ‘Dorelia’ (Dorothy McNeill 1881-1969). Dorelia lived with the artist and his wife, Ida, between 1904 and 1907 and became John's common-law wife after Ida's death in 1907. She is depicted here in 'gypsy' clothes and barefoot. John was an ardent enthusiast for the Romany life and spent much time between 1905 and 1911 travelling with his extensive family in a gypsy caravan. Dorelia was perhaps John’s most frequent subject in his early career. However, in the 1920s he was much in demand for commissioned portraits and it was only in later years that she began to feature in his work once more.