Captain Charles Robertson was the brother of the artist, Edward Robertson (who painted this portrait) and the son of the well-known Scottish miniaturist Andrew Robertson (1777-1845). Charles was present at the signing of the Maori Treaty at Russell, New Zealand, in March 1840, when sovereignty was ceded to Britain. He later personally conveyed the treaty document to the governor of New South Wales. He surveyed the Cook Straits for the Admiralty, and Mount Robertson and Cape Robertson in New Zealand are both named after him. This miniature is considered one of the finest examples of his brother’s work, painted when he was resident in Glasgow in the late 1830s.