Augustus John met Dorothy “Dorelia” McNeill in 1903, and she soon moved in with him and his family, becoming his muse and embodying his ideal of womanhood. Biographer Michael Holroyd described her as “hypnotically beautiful” and noted that John cast her in many imaginative roles—mother, mistress, goddess, and seductress—each perfectly realized. The present drawing is one of several studies John made of Dorelia between 1907 and 1909, depicting her in a long dress, standing full- or three-quarter-length; three related works are in the Tate Gallery, London.