He was the only child of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and Robert Gould Shaw II, a landowner and socialite.

[2][3] Robert Gould Shaw III's father had a limited role in his life while he had a close, if occasionally difficult, relationship with his mother.

[9] On 9 March 1920 he was transferred to the Royal Horse Guards' Reserve of Officers,[10] but he rejoined the regular establishment of the regiment on 24 September 1921.

[13] Robert Gould Shaw III had long had suicidal tendencies and his life mostly went adrift from an early point.

His mother gave the portrait to Alfred E. Goodey, art collector and Shaw's partner, and it was later sold in England in 2011 for £23,000.