Miss Beatrix Lister

Sir Joshua Reynolds

National Gallery of Art

This painting depicts the upper half of a seated young woman who is facing forward. She has fair skin, pale eyebrows, gray eyes, and thin lips in a neutral expression. The right side of her face is partially in shadow. Her light brown hair is styled up with a blue ribbon and pearl ornaments. She wears a black dress with lace detailing, a red gem, and pearl strands at the neckline. The dress also features blue slits in the arms, blue bows at each elbow, and lace cuffs at the end of the long sleeves. She wears a pearl necklace with a blue bow in the back and holds a small white dog on her lap. The background is dark brown, with a vertical strip of lighter brown on the right.