Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings of army life before leaving for service in France. The drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate the style of Cadell’s painting in the 1920s. Here, with minimal effort, Cadell has suggested the figure of a woman seated on the ground. The vibrancy of her blue hat with black feather creates a focal point of the work.