This portrait of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon was painted by Stephen Catterson Smith PRHA (1806-1872). Smith trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 1822 before studying in Paris and gaining a reputation for his skill in black chalk portraits. This proficiency led to royal patronage and later to commissions in Ireland. He moved to Londonderry in 1839 where he stayed for six years painting portraits and small genre scenes. In 1845 he moved to Dublin, where he lived for the rest of his life and became a highly successful portrait painter to some of Ireland's most distinguished families. His work has been described as being in the style of the celebrated English portrait painter Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830).

Arthur Hill-Trevor was born and educated in England but in 1837 succeeded his father as third Viscount Dungannon, a member of the Irish peerage. In 1855 he was elected representative peer for Ireland in the House of Lords. He was an active public figure who published several political pamphlets and a two-volume Life and Times of William III.

This particular portrait was commissioned as a gift to the sitter's wife, Sophia, by the 3rd Viscount of Dungannon's tenantry. It was exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin in 1856. The painting was given as a gift by Viscountess Dungannon to the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1871, nine years after the Viscount's death.