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.

Baron Stockmar came from Coburg, where he practiced as a doctor, entered the service of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, whom he met in 1815, and came to England with him in 1816. After the death of Princess Charlotte, Prince Leopold's wife, he was Keeper of the Privy Purse and Comptroller to the Prince. He was closely associated with Queen Victoria and played an important role in negotiating her marriage to Prince Albert, Leopold's nephew, whom he accompanied on a tour of Italy in 1838-9. The Queen was always grateful for his guidance during her early married life and in the education of her children. In the words of General Grey: 'Rarely has it fallen to the lot of Queen or Prince to be blessed with so real a friend, in the best sense of that word'. He retired to Coburg in 1857.

Signed and dated: F Winterhalter / 1847. Inscribed on the back with the names of the artist and sitter, the sitter's age and the date 1847.