Born in 1774, the youngest daughter of Cooper and Elizabeth Penrose, Elizabeth “Bessie” Penrose was sociable, well-read and enjoyed parties. In this portrait, painted around 1803, she is depicted wearing a dress and headdress inspired by Turkish costume.

This style was very popular in fashionable society at the time, having been introduced to England and Ireland, in the eighteenth century, by travellers such as Lady Wortley Montagu. The fashion lasted for much of the 18th and into the early 19th century, as can be seen in the portrait Mrs. Baldwin (1782) by Sir Joshua Reynolds. As well as fashions and customs, Turkish baths were also popular , and there were several in Cork in the nineteenth century. Like three of her four brothers, Bessie never married. She died in Cork in 1862.