Constable's profound connection to his native Stour Valley is evident not only in his commitment to painting local landscapes, but also in his numerous portraits of the area's dignitaries. Portraiture played a particularly significant role in Constable's output from the 1800s and 1810s. In these years, he was struggling to gain recognition for the landscape paintings that would form the core of his oeuvre. Depicting influential members of his rural society earned his family's respect and a modest income, while also enabling him to establish a reputation and to cultivate patrons.

This half-length portrait depicts the wife of James Pulham, a local Suffolk attorney, dressed in elaborate finery befitting her status within the community. Mrs. Pulham's pyramidal form dominates the composition, with the voluminous fabric of her sleeves seeming to spill off the edge of the canvas and her gaze peering into the unseen distance. Whereas Constable has rendered the face, hair, and hat carefully, and captured the sitter's contemplative expression through attention to naturalistic details, he employs looser brushwork in his handling of the clothing and background. For instance, bravura passages of white paint evoke the shimmer of light on the satin dress. In a letter to Constable of April 30, 1818, Pulham acknowledged receipt of his wife's portrait and referred to it as "the Compliment which you have so handsomely bestowed on her."

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