William Carter, Portrait of Mrs Patrick Forbes, 1906 © The Foundling Museum

The painting depicts Mrs Patrick Forbes, a Governor at the Foundling Hospital. William Carter was best known for painting portraits, animals and still life. He was the son of the artist Samuel John Carter and brother of the Egyptologist Howard Carter. He lived mostly at Swaffham in Norfolk, but also in London where he exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists.