Edward Bligh (1795–1835), Viscount Clifton

Phillips's portrait of Edward Bligh, Viscount Clifton from 1812 at Eton College depicts a young aristocrat at the age of seventeen, in the school that educated the scions of England's greatest families and prepared them for the parliamentary and military careers that their birth entitled them to expect. Bligh was the heir of the Earl of Darnley and an Eton student when Phillips painted him, and the commission would have come through the family connection to the College's portrait tradition of documenting notable alumni. The 1812 date places this during the Napoleonic Wars, when Eton's young gentlemen were being prepared for the military careers that many would pursue in Wellington's army.

Phillips captures the young nobleman with the confidence of privileged youth. The Eton setting connects the sitter to the school's community of former pupils. The handling is professional, with the youthful features rendered with careful attention to individual character.