This full length portrait of Emma seated in her shawl is unusual in Brown's oeuvre. Most often the portraits of his family are quarter-length, creating a more emotionally intense view of the sitter. The Tate has a similar drawing on the back of a quarter-length portrait of Cathy (1853, pencil on paper). Again Emma is sitting on a high backed chair. The Birmingham drawing is dated 9 May 1854, although there does not seem to be any particular relevance attached to this day. By this point the couple had been married one year and one month and perhaps it was made to commemorate this fact.
LM