Jemima, Duchess of Kent (d.1728), and Her Daughter Lady Jemima Grey

This 1705 double portrait of Jemima, Duchess of Kent, with her daughter Lady Jemima Grey depicts members of the influential Grey family at the beginning of the Hanoverian era. Such mother-daughter portraits reinforced dynastic continuity and demonstrated the family's importance through the generations, connecting maternal wisdom and grace with the next generation's promise. The Grey family's political significance — Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, was a prominent Whig who supported the Hanoverian succession — gave this domestic portrait a political dimension beyond family sentiment. Kneller's double portrait format, relatively unusual in his largely single-figure practice, creates an intimate image of aristocratic family life.

The double composition arranges mother and daughter with tender proximity while maintaining the formal dignity expected of aristocratic subjects, the contrasting costumes and ages lending variety to the carefully balanced composition.