Agnes Goodsir was born in Portland, Victoria in 1864, but spent most of her adult life in Paris where she studied at various academes and worked as a painter. In 1926 she was made a member of the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts, one of few Australians given this honour. Goodsir returned to Australia for most of 1927, exhibiting in Melbourne and Sydney, and undertaking several portrait commissions.

Andrew Barton Paterson was educated in Sydney. He studied law and worked as a solicitor, while writing for the Bulletin under his pen name Banjo. Paterson subsequently worked as a war correspondent and newspaper editor, but is most celebrated for his popular and iconic ballad writing. Goodsir’s portrait of poet Banjo Paterson, commissioned by philanthropist Eadith Campbell Walker in 1927, was presented to the Library the following year.