The son of two well-known Viennese actors, Koberwein studied painting in Paris with Paul Delaroche (1797-1856); he worked in various European capitals before setting in London in 1859. He experimented with processes for colouring photographs and his painted portraiture was greatly influenced by photography. Queen Victoria described Koberwein as ‘such a useful good artist & pleasant person’. Princess Victoria (1868-1935) was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, the fourth child of her eldest son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. She is here shown wearing an off-the-shoulder dress decorated with mauve ribbons and broderie anglaise; she wears a gold locket around her neck.