The Honourable George de la Poer Beresford (1735–1800), 2nd Earl of Tyrone, Later 1st Marquis of Waterford

Johann Zoffany's 1780 portrait of George de la Poer Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and later 1st Marquis of Waterford, belongs to the later phase of his career after his return from India, where he had spent several years painting Nawabs and Company officials. The Cobbe Collection holds this work representing Zoffany's aristocratic Irish clientele — the Beresfords were one of the most powerful Anglo-Irish dynasties of the eighteenth century, wielding enormous political influence in the Irish Parliament. Zoffany depicts the Earl with the formal gravity appropriate for a great magnate.

The formal portrait adheres to conventional three-quarter-length aristocratic format with more restraint than Zoffany's celebrated conversation pieces. The face is rendered with his characteristic alert observation while the costume and setting indicate rank. The handling is confident and the likeness clearly primary.