Singer. Well-known in the pre-War years, Winifred Radford sang at the first Glyndebourne Festival, gave lieder recitals for the BBC, toured with the Intimate Opera Company and gave recitals at the National Gallery during the War years. After the War she studied with Pierre Bernac and became a specialist in French mélodie, giving the British premieres of some of Francis Poulenc's songs. She was an admired teacher of singing at the Guildhall School from 1955–1971. In one of the many tributes to Radford, her friend Sidney Buckland praised 'her quiet resolve, determination and integrity beneath a gracious, radiant charm.'
The portrait was commissioned by her husband, Captain Douglas Illingworth, a friend of Frampton, and painted while she was still a student at the Royal College of Music.