This small portrait is painted on copper, allowing the paint to sit crisply upon the surface. The sitter is simply dressed but wears fine leather gloves and holds a letter, alluding to education and business or personal ties. His face is starkly illuminated, and a low vantage point enhances his air of superiority. This painting was once paired with a portrait of a man now in Chicago. The letter, bearing a mysterious sketch of a fish, may have been intended for him.