William Yellowlees was known to his contemporaries as 'the Little Raeburn', an acknowledgement of the quality of his portraits as well as a comment on their size. This small self-portrait fully backs up such a view. The face of the sitter, set off by the crisply painted white cravat and mustard waistcoat, glows warmly against the dark background. After working for many years in Edinburgh, Yellowlees moved to London where he was appointed cabinet portrait painter to the King's brother, the Duke of Sussex.