Forward-facing, full-figure portrait of a young woman seated in an armchair. She has a distant and contemplative expression, with her eyes gazing downward to the left and her head also tilted slightly in that direction. She has dark hair neatly parted down the centre and tied away from the face and wears a floor-length black dress, which reveals the shoulders, has short sleeves trimmed with black lace, and a small posy of red flowers fixed to the bodice. Seated well back and resting both hands on her red upholstered chair, she has allowed a letter to fall from her hand into her lap. The background is dark and without detail contrasting with her pale skin.