Primarily a portraitist, Alexandre Dubois-Drahonet (1791-1829) worked for the French courts of Charles X and Louis-Philippe. His work is marked out by a clarity of line and understanding of light and shade acquired from Ingres.

In 1832 William IV commissioned the artist to paint his niece, the future Queen Victoria (RCIN 407006). This was part of a much larger commission to paint a series of one hundred pictures of soldiers that charted recent changes in the uniforms and weapons of the British Army. The sitters are sometimes identified by name, and are otherwise classified by rank and regiment. Ninety-one of the one hundred are still in the collection today. Apart from those depicting the French Navy in the Musée de la Marine, Paris, these are the only military works by Dubois-Drahonet that are recorded.

Captain George Elliot Balchild of the Royal Marines wears a scarlet uniform with blue facings and gold lace. He sports a black shako with a gilt star plate and a white plume. Balchild was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Marines in 1804 and was transferred, upon its formation in the same year, to the Royal Marine Artillery. He was promoted to Captain in 1827.