The sitter for this handsome, treasured miniature portrait was Revolutionary War veteran Nicholas Gilman (1755‒1814). After the war, Gilman served honorably in political offices in New Hampshire. In contrast, artist John Ramage led anything but a model life after arriving from Dublin.

Ramage’s talents as a portraitist garnered accolades from Loyalist patrons in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and he became a Royal Irish Volunteer in Boston by 1775. He later switched allegiance to the American cause and joined the New York Militia by 1777. His career led to prominent commissions, including a miniature of George Washington. Characterized as flamboyant and socially adept, Ramage persuaded at least three, possibly four, women each to be his wife (without divorcing any). No single marriage, however, rescued him from accrued debts, and he fled to Montreal in 1794.