[1][2] The artwork depicts two gentlemen, Colonel John Dyke Acland on the right and Lord Sydney on the left.

[3] The work portrays the two men holding each a bow, while the shotgun was the more popular choice of weapon at the time.

Their facial expressions, coupled with Sydney's eagerness and poise, suggest that they are both preparing to loose an arrow at an approaching animal.

The allusion to the classical era is apparent in both the clothing worn by the two aristocrats, and their choice of weapon.

^ However, the use of the bow for recreational use was, at the time, coming back into revival, and so this may not have been too uncommon when Reynolds created the work.