This portrait of Miss Elizabeth Weld is from a group of miniatures of the Weld family. The Weld children were second cousins of Richard Whitmore who was also painted by Bernard Lens in 1718 (Museum no. P.13-1971), and Katherine Whitmore, painted by Lens in 1724 (Museum no. P.14-1971). The Whitmore childrens' grandmother's maiden name was ‘Weld’, and Elizabeth Weld is one of the children of her nephew.

This family relation is of interest with regard to the way in which a miniature painter such as Bernard Lens worked in the early 18th century. Lens was based in London, where he taught drawing and miniature painting. He was a member of the convivial ‘Rose & Crown’ club for artists, and sketched regularly at the artists' academy set up by the Queen's principal painter, Sir Godfrey Kneller. Lens also regularly travelled through England, helping to restore and frame miniatures in old collections, painting copies for collectors, and, presumably with the recommendation of one family to another, visiting family homes to paint miniature portraits of family groups.