In his pairing of needle worker and accomplice, Stuart sets up a situation in which one girl is given precedence over the other. Anna Dorothea Foster (1773/74–1865), daughter of John Foster, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, works at a tambour frame, openly soliciting attention for herself and her craft. Charlotte Anna Dick (after 1773–1864), shown in profile—rare in Stuart's work—plays handmaiden to her cousin.