A three-quarter-length portrait seated, in captain's 1795-1812 undress uniform of stock, cravat, epaulettes, dark blue jacket and white breeches. His legs in high black boots are crossed and he faces forwards, to meet the gaze of the viewer. His Trafalgar medal hangs from his chest and his left hand rests on a decorated box which may have contained the medal, while his right hand rests in his lap. On the far right, a window curtain is pulled back to reveal a small seascape with ships, a fortified building and waves breaking. This seascape is probably at the mouth of the Tagus where Hardy was in command of the 'Triumph', 74 guns, on the Lisbon station in 1809.

The portrait is important because it was painted only four years after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After the Battle of the Nile, 1798, Hardy became Nelson's flag captain and remained so until the admiral's death at Trafalgar. He later became Commodore of the South America station in 1819-24 and First Sea Lord in 1830. He was Governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1834 to his death.

Domenico Pellegrini was born in Venice, studied in Rome and came to England in 1792, where he gained a considerable reputation as a portrait painter. When the French occupied Portugal in 1807 he found himself in Lisbon where he stayed to paint portraits. Signed 'Do. Pellegrini 1809'.