Portrait photograph of Alice, Duchess of Gloucester: head and shoulders, in right profile, wearing a woollen top. Signed and dated by the sitter. Mounted onto tissue and card.

Dorothy Wilding was one of the most successful photographers of theatre stars and society figures in the 1920s and 1930s. She was best known for her brightly lit compositions against plain backgrounds, which she utilises to full effect in this depiction of Lady Alice in a simple polo jumper. The understated outfit and short hair give the sitter an androgynous appearance, fashionable at the time. Lady Alice married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1935 and introduced couturier Norman Hartnell to the Royal Family. She continued to commission women photographers during her lifetime. Wilding herself went to become the first woman to be appointed as the official royal photographer for the 1937 Coronation.