Thomas Wilmer Dewing was deeply influenced by James Abbott McNeill Whistler's credo of art for art's sake and the Aesthetic Movement at large, which stressed the importance of beauty and assigned an otherworldly and cosmic dimension to art. Seated Lady in a Yellow Dress, a delicate pastel of a finely dressed young woman, highlights Dewing’s refined style and desire to make his sitters appear remote, even ethereal. The decorative quality of the pastel, in concert with the tonal character of Dewing’s style, was intended to evoke the restorative power of art.