Portrait with Flowers is a bronze version of a portrait carving of William's wife, Heather, with a vase of flowers. Williams writes in the catalogue for his 1991 exhibition at Bernard Jacobson, London: 'Her head and the flowers were two main elements in the sculpture but as the work progressed they physically grew apart (as often happens in my carvings). In order to bring the two elements back together I decided to "saw" the sculpture and "condense" it. First one cut, then another, the sculpture was soon in pieces. I started to reassemble them and saw again the clear vitality which the inside of the stone reveals against the outside surface.'

The original stone carving was too vulnerable to exhibit and had to be cast in bronze.