Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Schüler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death.

Lady Elizabeth Hay (1820-1904) was the daughter of the 8th Marquess of Tweeddale and in 1839 married Arthur, Marquess of Douro and later 2nd Duke of Wellington. She was Lady of the Bedchamber, 1843-58, and Mistress of the Robes, 1861-8 and 1874-80. Queen Victoria visited Winterhalter with Elizabeth in May 1849 and noted in her Journal that the artist 'tried different positions, to see which would be best'.

Signed and dated: F Winterhalter 1848.