A seated woman turns in profile to gaze downward at a young child positioned beside her, the two figures forming a quietly intimate composition typical of American daguerreotype portraiture from the late 1840s to mid-1850s. The image is housed in a sixth plate format and presented in a leather case embossed on both covers with a floriate bouquet motif within a scrolled cartouche border, lined inside with crimson velvet and a gilt paper mat surrounding the plate.

The woman wears a dark fitted dress with a ruffled white collar and holds her hands folded in her lap near the child; the child faces the camera directly with a solemn expression, light-colored ringlet curls framing her face, and wears a dark shawl over a white dress or pinafore with a lace-trimmed bodice. The child's posture is upright and unguarded against the woman's side.

The profile pose of the woman directing her gaze toward the child rather than the lens was a deliberate compositional choice that emphasizes the bond between the two sitters and appears with some frequency in daguerreotype mother-and-child portraits of this period. No photographer's imprint is visible on the mat or case interior.