James Butler (1665–1745), 2nd Duke of Ormonde

This portrait of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, depicts one of the most important Anglo-Irish noblemen of his generation — commander of allied forces in the Low Countries, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and eventually an exile in France after his impeachment for allegedly treasonous negotiations with the Jacobites. Ormonde's spectacular fall from favor in 1715 — from the second most powerful military figure in Britain to a fugitive exile — was one of the most dramatic political reversals of the early Hanoverian period. Kneller's portrait captures him before this catastrophe, depicting the powerful magnate at the height of his authority.

The military-aristocratic portrait presents Ormonde with martial bearing and noble dignity, Kneller rendering the soldier-statesman's commanding presence with the confident brushwork of his most accomplished period.