Black was born in London the first of two children born to the artist Thomas Black, (1715–1777), and his wife, Mary.[1] By 1760, she was working as an assistant to the artist Allan Ramsay producing copies and reproductions of works by Old Masters.[1][2] She received a commission to paint portraits of Dr. James Mounsey, a physician in the Russian court, and his cousin Dr. Messenger Mounsey.[1] The latter picture, a three-quarters length portrait, survives and is held by the Royal College of Physicians in London. For many years the painting was attributed to her father.[1] In 1768, Black exhibited four portraits with the Society of Artists and went on to become an honorary member of the society.[3]
As well as painting portraits, Black taught painting to members of a number of fashionable, aristocratic families.[3] Financial success allowed her to live independently while maintaining a household with servants and a carriage. She never married and died suddenly at home in London in 1814.[1]
