Sir George McKenzie of Rosehaugh was a lawyer, politician and widely published writer. Knighted in 1666, he took his title from his estate at Rosehaugh in the Black Isle, which he purchased from the bishop of Ross in 1668.
There are several known versions of this portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller, including in the Collection of the Earl of Wharmcliffe, the Mackenzie's of Seaforth, and in the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh. The arch in the composition of the picture offered here suggests it may have been cut down from a larger canvas with a feigned oval.