This portrait of James Blair was completed by Thomas Sully in 1843. Currently this portrait hangs in the Truman Study in Lee House. Lee House is a part of the Blair House complex, which is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. The house has been used as the president's guest house since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is also where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

James Blair was one of Francis Preston Blair's three sons and the liveliest of them. He was a member of the Wilkes Expedition before becoming a businessman in San Francisco. Blair passed away in 1853 at age 33. After his death, his brother Montgomery Blair took charge of his estate to secure James' wife and children's financial future.