Howard Hodgkin painted what he called 'representational pictures of emotional situations'. His wartime experience as an evacuee in America introduced him early on to Matisse and Fernand Leger at New York's Museum of Modern Art. He studied art at Corsham Court in Bath, under William Scott. While Scott's approach to abstraction rejected any notion of representation, Hodgkin's very personal emotional approach was stubbornly rooted in the idea of illustrating a subjective mood. His early work was compared to Pop for its graphic almost cartoon-like forms.

This double portrait represents Hodgkin's response to his sitters. The layers of surface patterns blur the depth of the image and show Hodgkin's interest in the interiors of Edouard Vuillard. Although the boldly kinetic stripes can be traced to his youthful admiration for the tubular bodies of Leger, Hodgkin's paintings remain very personal mood pieces.