Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited (with Richard Wilson) as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy.

The original of Mrs Graham is in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. This is one of Gainsborough's finest full-length portraits. The costume and accessories evoke the era of King Charles I and the opulent court portraits of Sir Anthony van Dyck. The sitter was born the Honourable Mary Cathcart (1757-92), daughter of 9th Lord Cathcart, who was Ambassador to Catherine the Great. She married the Perthshire landowner Thomas Graham in 1774, and they bought Lynedoch House near Methven, Perthshire in 1787. The portrait was highly acclaimed when exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1777. Thomas Graham, devastated by his wife's premature death in 1792, passed the painting to her sister. It was bequeathed to the National Galleries of Scotland by one of their descendants on condition that it never leaves the country.