Lord Hugh Seymour (1759–1801), Vice Admiral

Lord Hugh Seymour, Vice Admiral from around 1784 by John Hoppner depicts a naval officer who died of yellow fever in Jamaica in 1801. Naval portraits were particularly valued during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, when British sea power was essential to national survival. Hoppner's oil handling favored warm flesh tones over silvery grey half-shadows, producing an immediate vivacity that reflected his admiration for Reynolds and Gainsborough.

The naval portrait renders the vice admiral with martial dignity, Hoppner's broad technique capturing the officer's authority and the details of his naval uniform.