Forrester was born in Kingston-Upon-Hull, the son of a jeweller, but achieved fame and wealth as a Port Shipper in Portugal and eventual head of Offley Forrester and Co. In addition to this he was a cartographer, a photographer and an accomplished amateur artist who worked mainly in watercolour. Delaforce (op.cit., p. 62) records a set of seven oil paintings on zinc, of which the present picture is one. 'Such men as....Joseph Forrester...entered easily into the life and interests of the Portuguese. Forrester was the most remarkable man of his day in the Rua dos Inglezes and apart from his business was eminent as a writer, an agriculturist, cartographer and an artist. His landscapes show a great feeling for the character and colour of Douro scenery and his portraits often with a shy touch of caricature form valuable records of the Oporto notabilities of the day.' (C.P. Hawkes and M. Smithes, The Adventures of Mrs. Dorothy Procter of Entre Quintas, 1938).