The fashionable portraits that the British photographer Cecil Beaton made in the first part of the twentieth century are often characterized by their flamboyant, artificial glamour. Having joined the staff of Conde Nast in 1928, the photographer visited New York in 1929 to record celebrity portraits for "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair." This portrait is one of several shimmery images that Beaton made of the socialite Paula Gellibrand, Marquise of Casa Maury, who became a longtime friend. The Marquise, wearing an elegantly simple satin dress and dazzling Art Deco jewelry, is shown sidled up to a mirror to heighten the image's silvery, reflective effect. The large scale print was made later in Beaton's career, possibly for exhibition purposes.

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