John Weesop, the likely painter of this moving portrait of a young boy, is an elusive figure in the history of English portraiture. His paintings have for centuries been incorrectly attributed as the work of others.

Several paintings known to be by Weesop are associated with the Villiers family, royalist supporters of King Charles I. This poignant portrait is of Esmé Stuart, the 2-year-old son of the 1st Duke of Richmond and Lady Mary Villiers. In 1655, at the age of 6, Esmé Stuart inherited his father´s title. By 1660, the young Duke and his family had fled to France after finding themselves supporters of the losing side in the English Civil War. While in exile in Paris, he contracted smallpox and died, just three months after the restoration of a Stuart king to the English throne.