During his second visit to London in the 1530s, Holbein learned the art of miniature painting from Lucas Hornebolte (1490/95?–1544) of Ghent, one of the inventors of the genre, who was painting miniatures at Henry VIII's court as early as 1525. This portrait and its pendant, depicting Margaret's husband, William Roper (MMA 50.69.1), are among Holbein's earliest, and demonstrate the assurance with which the artist handled the new medium, adapting the convincing naturalism of his style in oils to minute depictions in watercolor and gouache. Margaret More, the eldest and favorite child of Sir Thomas More, was born in 1505, and the age assigned to her in Holbein's inscription indicates that this miniature was painted 1535–36, shortly after her father's execution.

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