At the time when Lotte Laserstein left Germany, Curt Juhlin Dannfelt (1888 - 1968) was the Swedish military attaché in Berlin. The Juhlin-Dannfelt family association's website states that it is very likely that he assisted her in her journey to Sweden. Upon her arrival in Sweden, Lotte Laserstein stayed with Curt Juhlin-Dannfelt's brother Charlie and his wife Brita. Lotte Laserstein created a number of portraits of family members in the Juhlin-Dannfelt circle. She made individual portraits of Charlie, Brita, and their son Börje (1938). She also painted a portrait of Brita's sister Margit Gentele, as well as children's portraits of the nieces in the family.

The painting in the auction depicts Charlie and Curt's mother Ada Juhlin-Dannfelt, née Liljebjörn (1855 - 1938). Laserstein painted four exactly identical portraits in mixed media of Ada, one portrait for each of Ada's four children.