The 7th Lord Northesk (1758–1831)

Phillips's portrait of the seventh Lord Northesk from 1807 depicts the naval officer who commanded HMS Britannia at the Battle of Trafalgar—a participant in the greatest British naval victory of the age, fighting under Nelson in the squadron that broke through the Franco-Spanish line on October 21, 1805. The 1807 date places this just two years after Trafalgar, when the memory of the battle was fresh and the officers who had participated were being documented as national heroes. Northesk's presence at Trafalgar gives his portrait an immediate historical significance beyond the normal commemorative function of aristocratic portraiture, and Phillips's engagement with naval subjects connected him to the patriotic celebration of Britain's maritime supremacy that Trafalgar had confirmed.

The Trafalgar hero is presented in naval uniform, his rank and service record established through the details of his dress. Phillips handles the naval portrait with professional competence, rendering the uniform with appropriate precision. The face conveys the authority of a man who had commanded in the greatest naval battle of the age.