Peale's portrait of William Buckland, the Annapolis architect and builder, was begun when Buckland was in the flush of his success, having finished his architectural masterpiece, the Matthias Hammond House. Peale shows Buckland in a relaxed pose holding a drafting pen, with the architectural plans for Hammond House on the table. The imaginative symbolic background displays the base of a monumental column and an uncommon five-column portico. Peale has caught Buckland's vigorous personality and strength of character, creating a portrait of vivacity and individuality. Buckland died unexpectedly before the portrait was finished, and Peale did not complete it until fifteen years later, at the request of the sitter's daughter.