William Barksdale Myers was the only son of Richmond businessman andcity councilman Gustavus Adolphus Myersand his wife, Anna Augusta Giles. William did have a half brother,nearly twenty years his senior, Richard Gustavus Forrester, the sonof Gustavus and freedwoman Nelly Forrester, who would serve as one ofthe first African Americans on Richmond’s City Council after theCivil War.

William servedachieved the rank of major in the Confederate army and served on thestaff of Major General John C. Breckinridge, about whom he reportedin a letter to his father: “For the most part he is courteous,grandiose, not pompous, a sky rocket on the field, and as thoroughlyselfish a man as ever God created.” Still, he reassured his father,though Breckinridge was “frequently petulant to others, he hasalways maintained the most courteous demeanor to me.”

In 1864 William married Martha West Pegram Paul and they had fourchildren. William became a very promising painter in Richmond beforehis career was cut short by an untimely death at the age ofthirty-three. In addition to this self-portrait, there are twoportraits he painted of his father included in the Loeb PortraitDatabase.