This portrait is thought to be of Julia Johnston, aged 28, eldest daughter of Commander of Marines, George Johnston and ex-convict Esther Abrahams, who was born on the family’s estate ‘Annandale’. Julia is shown at the property, dressed in her finest clothes, with elaborate hairstyle and jewellery. The family vault, designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, can be seen in the background.

Julia and her siblings belonged to the ‘currency’ generation — the first non‐Indigenous generation born in Australia. Read’s portrait portrays the wealth and privilege many colonial families enjoyed, once settled in New South Wales.