Portrait of Dowager Lady Cunningham, three-quarter-length, in a white dress and head dress

Hamilton was the son of a Dublin peruque-maker, who is best known for his charming small oval portraits executed in pastel. In 1764, he left Dublin for London, probably for financial reasons. On his arrival in England Hamilton's portraits were very well received and the success of his likenesses enabled him to charge 9 guineas for a single portrait. A similar portrait to the present drawing of Frederick, fifth Earl of Carlisle, executed in 1768, soon after his arrival in London, is illustrated in A. Crookshank and The Knight of Glin, The Painters of Ireland 1660-1920, London, 1978, p. 73.