This caricature shows Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies (1891-1992) as Miss Mason in He Was Born Gay by Emlyn Williams at the Oxford New Theatre on 17 May 1937. It was drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976), a rehearsal pianist and orchestral violinist at the Brighton Theatre Royal from 1932 until 1936, and at the Oxford New Theatre from 1936 for over forty years. Sommerlad sketched the stars on stage when he wasn't needed in the orchestra pit, compiling the sketches in a series of albums.

Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies's remarkable career spanned eighty years, from a walk-on part in the 1911 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at His Majesty's Theatre to an appearance in the 1992 Sherlock Holmes television film The Master Blackmailer. She was a link with Victorian theatre and a legendary figure of the English stage, hailed as the finest Juliet of her generation for her 1924 portrayal opposite the Romeo of the 19-year-old John Gielgud. She retired from the stage in 1970 but continued to work in radio and television until the end of her life. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1991 after much campaigning by senior theatrical figures. At age 100, she was the oldest person to receive this honour.