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Following find a quote from Virginia Penfield's niece, Marlene Cota, with some background information on the sitter, Miss Virginia Penfield:
"Virginia Penfield was my aunt. She was a very interesting lady. In the 1940's, she raised 2 leopard cubs in my grandmother's home. When they were about six months old and too large to handle, the leopards, named 'Daisey Mae' and 'Little Abner', spent the rest of their days in the Columbus, Ohio Zoo. Virginia rode in many horse shows around Columbus. She had boxes of many show ribbons of all different colors. She owned a hackney pony named Cadet Commander that was a grand champion. That horse was housed and shown from a horse farm in Illinois. The trainer's name was Doc Flannery. I loved going to her horse farm north of Columbus. Virginia's favorite riding horse was Amber Crest. My grandfather was also an avid rider. He rode a big black stallion names Tobi. The horse shown in the painting we referred to as Prince Valiant. She enjoyed an array of animals. There was a donkey called Honey Pot, a white goat named Captain Kid, several dalmatian dogs and a cat Roxi. Virginia was married for a short time. After she was widowed, she remained in my grandparent's home in Columbus, Ohio. Virginia died from a stroke in her early fifties. The contents of her home were sold at a public auction in the 60s. I loved being around my aunt. She was a very pretty and very witty person."
---Marlene Cota in Indianapolis Indiana, 2016
The following biography is from the archives of askArt.
Biography from Chisholm Gallery
George Ford Morris was a painter, printmaker, sculptor and illustrator, who specialized in painting famous horses, their owners and riders. Born in Missouri, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Académie Julian in Paris. He wrote and illustrated Portraitures of Horses and George Ford Morris Animals, the latter of which was published for three consecutive years and bound in Christmas issues of The American Horseman. In addition to being a regular contributor to equestrian and racing magazines, he illustrated for Century and Scribners.
"George Ford Morris is unquestionably one of the leading portrayers of animals. At sixteen he was an illustrator for the authoritative magazine, The Horseman, and at seventeen, he was known as that brilliant young animal artist whose illustrations appeared regularly in The American Sportsman, Breeder's Gazette, The Trotter and Pacer, and The Western Horseman.
He was a Founder Member of the American Animal Artists Association of which he has been Chairman and President since 1937. He is as much at home in sculpture as painting and prefers the former, but is kept too busy at the latter to indulge his preference. He has completed many lithographs of famous horses, three illustrated historical books, and is completing the George Ford Morris Collection of more than six hundred items embracing portraits of many of the most important stallions and champion horses of the last three centuries."
References:
Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art. Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1985. p. 431.
Gilbert, Dorothy B., ed. Who's Who in American Art. New York: American Federation of Arts and R.R. Bowker, 1959. p. 406.