Richard Bache is painted in a three-quarter view, his right shoulder forward, his face turned slightly toward the viewer. Bache's expression is somewhat questioning, as though he is listening to someone with whom he has been in conversation. His graying hair is unpowdered, curled at his ears and appears to be gathered behind him. He wears a gray-brown coat, white waistcoat and ruffled cravat.

The background of his portrait, unlike that of his wife, has a suggestion of a landscape behind and below him to the right.