Photograph of a half-length portrait of Princess Louise seated facing right, her face captured in profile. She holds a book in her left hand. She wears a pearl necklace, pearl drop earrings, a light colour dress and a dark colour cardigan. A vase of flowers features on the left hand side of the photograph.

This portrait of the sixth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was Beaton’s first commission from a member of the Royal Family. Following the sitting, correspondence between the duchess’s lady-in-waiting and Beaton outlined which features the princess wished to have enhanced and what had to be ‘slightly toned down’. Despite noting that the photograph ‘had received already a great deal of attention’, Beaton further enhanced the portrait. Retouching had been part of portrait photography since its origin and the princess seemingly understood its merits. For these early portraits, Beaton would have used his No. 3A folding pocket Kodak camera, a hand-held camera granting him freedom of movement around his subject.