Anne Tufton was the daughter of the Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet. She married James Cecil, 5th Earl of Salisbury, in 1709 and they had four children. Her friend Anne Finch, Countess of Winchelsea, praised her in a poem as standing 'the Test of every Light, / In perfect Charms, and perfect Virtue bright'. In 1732, Anne founded a charity school in Hatfield, where she lived, for the education of 40 girls between the ages of nine and 16. Of these, 20 were educated and clothed free of charge from funds provided by the Countess. The rules were strict and any absenteeism, swearing or 'disorderly behaviour' would result in expulsion. The complete set of school rules was worked by the original girls of the school into a large needlework sampler which can still be seen today in Countess Anne School. The monogram AT on the case suggests that the miniature was painted before her marriage.

Bernard Lens (1682-1740) was born in London, into a family of artists, and is usually known as Bernard Lens III. He taught miniature painting, and Princess Mary, the daughter of George II and Queen Caroline, was one of his pupils (Princess Mary's miniature of her sister, Princess Louisa,is in the Royal Collection RCIN 420900). His early work was on vellum, but he was one of the first artists in England to follow the example of the Italian artist Rosalba Carriera, using ivory instead from 1708.

Signed on the right in gold paint with the monogram BL and contained in an eighteenth-century gilt case engraved on the back with the monogram AT.