A member of a large and gifted family, Charlotte was the sixth daughter of the landscape painter Alexander Nasmyth. All the girls were talented artists, trained to draw and paint by their father so that they could run art classes from their Edinburgh home and eventually support themselves independently. Charlotte painted romantic landscapes which were widely exhibited. Dressed in pristine white, and holding a posy of flowers, the sketchbook on which she leans is the only clue to her occupation in this portrait.