John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Lady Lilian Elizabeth Michaelis was the wife of South African mining magnate and philanthropist, Sir Maximilian Michaelis. The couple enjoyed a comfortable, yet secluded life on their English country estate until 1919, when they moved to Cape Town, South Africa. Upon her husband's death in 1932, Lady Michaelis returned to England and in her husband's honor, she made several large donations of art from their personal collection to the National Art Gallery in Cape Town, as well as many other gifts to the Michaelis Collection in Cape Town. Lady Michaelis was also the founder of an eponymous hospital in Cape Town, the Lady Michaelis Orthopaedic Home.

This charcoal drawing has been reviewed and accepted by the John Singer Sargent Catalogue Raisonné Committee.