This studio portrait with countryside backdrop and red curtains hanging near a column (conflating indoor and outdoor) derives from European paintings of the period. The large scale of the attendant compared to the boy is noteworthy, and perhaps is intended to add an exotic appeal to the depiction of an English boy who grew up in a Southeast Asian colonial setting. The child, playing with a stick and hoop, is William Henry Ker (1837-1864), son of William Wemyss Ker (1802–1874), a partner of Paterson, Simons and C, one of the earliest and largest trading firms in the Straits Settlements. The artist, Aaron Edwin Penley (1807–1870), was better known for watercolours, and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy exhibitions in London.
