The sitter was the son of Abraham Smith of Clyst Honiton, Devon. He matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford, on 19 October 1780 and received his BA in 1784; ordained deacon on 10 June 1784, and priest on 11 June 1786. He was vicar of Salcombe, Devon, from 1792 to 1796 and was vicar of Ottery St Mary, Devon, from 1794 to 1841. He was chaplain to H.R.H. The Duke of Clarence, vicar of Braunton 1796-1807 and rector of Charlton in 1808 until his death on 1 November 1841. He was also a Justice of the Peace in Devon. '1794 George Smith' is inscribed on a stone tablet in the foyer of the church of Ottery St Mary, under the heading 'Vicars of Parish Church'. Ottery St Mary was the birthplace of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.