Alexander McDonald was born at Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, on 13th September 1817. He graduated as licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in 1838. In 1840 he served on an whaling vessel commanded by Captain William Penny and wrote an account of his experiences 'A Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Eenoolooapik, a young Eskimaux'. Between 2nd September 1841 and 5th March 1845 he served as surgeon on board HMS 'Belvidera' in the Mediterranean and was appointed Assistant Surgeon in HMS 'Terror' on Sir John Franklin's last expedition of 1845. The expedition, comprising 129 in all, was beset by ice and they abandoned their ships in 1848 in a doomed attempt to march south to safety: there were no survivors. It is likely this portrait was painted either just before or just after McDonald's whaling voyage, given he is shown in civilian dress, and the artist may well be Scottish, though this remains to be confirmed.