Stuart's portraits of the five beautiful daughters of Thomas and Anne McCall Willing exemplify Stuart's exceptional talents: he observed facial features closely and expressed individual characterization through compositional choice. Mary Clymer (1770–1852) bears a family resemblance to her sister Anne but is portrayed as more reticent and modest. The one bit of exoticism—the plaid East India cotton scarf worn as a turban—is balanced by her reading material, John Gregory's popular A Father's Legacy to His Daughters, a book of advice on appropriate conduct for young women.