A three-quarter-length portrait of Edward Hawke (1705–1781) in flag officer’s full-dress uniform, 1767–1783, with the ribbon and star of the Order of the Bath. He stands in front of a rocky cliff, holding his hat in his right hand and his sword in his left with a naval engagement in the left background. The portrait is bordered with a thick frame, lettered at the bottom with the title and a dedication to the Duke of Clarence (later William IV) and the officers of the British Navy: ‘The Right Honorable Edward Lord Hawke. Baron of Towton, K. B., Vice Admiral of Great Britain, First Lord of the Admiralty. Distinguished in Parliament, in the Cabinet and in Battle, in the most eventful Records of the British History, and always fortunate. To His R. H. the Duke of Clarence and Officers of the British Navy, This Print is most humbly Dedicated by Jn. Hall.’ Lettered beneath the image with the publication details: ‘Painted by Francis Cotes R.A. / Engraved by Jn. Hall Engraver to his Majesty. / Printed by Craven Wm. Richards. / Published as the Act directs Decr. 1. 1793, by J. Hall, Berwick Street & T. Macklin, Fleet Street.’ This portrait was engraved by John Hall after an original painting by Francis Cotes, produced in the late 1760s. Two copies of Cotes’s painting are known, one of which is in the National Maritime Museum (see BHC2754). (Updated April 2019.)