John Rutledge, second chief justice of the United States, was born near Charleston, South Carolina. After studying law at the Middle Temple, London, Ruthledge established a law practice in his home town. He later served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, and in 1782 and 1783 was a member of Congress under the Articles of Confederation. In 1784, Rutledge was elected to the South Carolina chancery court. During the Constitutional Convention, Rutledge supported wealth as a criteria for political representation, favored assumption of state debts, and advocated election of the president by Congress. Rutledge served as chief justice of South Carolina and was named chief justice of the United States in 1795. He presided for four months as a recess appointee, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate due to Rutledge's bitter attacks on the Jay Treaty.

In 1856 the Senate passed a bill providing for the acquisition of a bust of Chief Justice John Rutlege. It appropriated $800 for the work and selected a young Virginia sculptor, Alexander Galt, to execute the bust. One of the most successful southern artists of his day, Galt had recently returned to the United States after six years of study in Florence. Upon receiving the commission, he sailed again for Italy where he modeled the Rutledge bust, basing his work on painted likenesses of the deceased subject. The bust was shipped to Washington and placed in the U.S. Capitol's Supreme Court Chamber in 1858.