The sitter is wearing the uniform of a Royal Artillery field-officer before 1794. He has not been identified, but it has been suggested that he may be Major Jesse Wright of the Royal Artillery who was mentioned in the Duke of York's despatches from Valenciennes in 1792.

The miniaturist has not been identified but potential candidates are John Alefounder (1757?-1794) or John (also known as James) Alves (c. 1738-1808), neither of whom have a well-known body of work for comparison. John Alefounder entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1776 and may have been the son of a goldsmith and frame maker. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and won awards at the Schools in 1781 and 1784. In 1785, he travelled to Kolkata (Calcutta). He suffered from mental illness for a while but recovered in 1786 when he had to advertise for some of his paints and materials which had gone missing during his illness. He committed suicide after another bout of illness in 1794. John Alves came from Inverness. In 1756, the Edinburgh Society of Arts awarded him a gold medal and he exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1775 and 1779. He spent eight years in Rome where he became a Roman Catholic, and died in Inverness.

Signed above his right shoulder: IA.