James Sharples came to America in 1793 with his wife, Ellen, and sons Felix and James, Jr., all of whom were fine artists in their own right. The family settled in Philadelphia in 1797 and immediately became one of the major presences in local portraiture. Although it is difficult to ascertain exactly when, it seems quite likely that James and Ellen Sharples visited George and Martha Washington in 1796 in Philadelphia or in the beginning in 1797 in Mount Vernon after Washington retired. Several scholars have suggested that Sharples may have visited Washington as many as four times.

While Sharples painted oil portraits in England, the trip to America and the need for economical shipment of materials neccessitated that he focus on smallish pastels, like the present example, most of which were executed on a very fine velvety gray paper. These pastels comprise the entire body of his American work, but Sharples returned to oil painting when he returned to London shortly after completing his first portrait of Washington.

There are numberous other versions of this portrait, with examples in the National Portrait Gallery in London, England; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut; and the Bristol Art Gallery, Bristol, England.