Catherine Gulley’s watercolour of a nude bather appears a little uncomfortable and chilled as she reclines awkwardly on the cold rocks of a British beach. It is likely that this miniature watercolour was based upon a life drawing, scaled-down and transposed from the artist’s studio to an exterior setting. It forms an interesting contrast to the warm sensuality represented in Fortunino Matania’s contribution to the watercolours in Queen Mary's Dolls' House (RCIN 927190).

In common with several of the artists represented by works in Queen Mary's Dolls' House, Catherine Gulley was a member of the Royal West of England Academy. Located in Bristol, the RWA is the only regional Royal Academy of Art in the United Kingdom. It is one of five such institutions, alongside those in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and London.