Signed and dated Roslin sveda Paris 1763. Ulric Scheffer was the Swedish ambassador in Paris during the mid 18th century. This portrait of him was painted by Roslin in Paris 1763, and was exhibited at the Art Salon the same year where it received large criticism for its rather unusual, and at the time, old fashioned composition.
Ulric Scheffer married the widow of Erik Brahe, Christina Piper in 1773. This portrait, together with Scheffers personal library, was transferred to Skokloster Castle just after the death of Christina Piper in January 1800.