A three-quarter-length portrait facing left, wearing a rear-admiral's uniform of 1795-1812, together with a white wig and the gold medal that he received for his service at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797. Robert Calder was First Captain to Admiral Sir John Jervis during this battle, for which he was knighted at St James's in March 1797. This portrait was painted in 1797 and exhibited at the Royal Academy the following year. The silver star visible on Calder’s left epaulette denotes the rank of rear-admiral and must have been added to the portrait at a later date, since Calder was not promoted to this rank until February 1799. The portrait’s artist, Abbott, had established his first studio in London around 1780. He painted relatively few women and seems to have specialised in male portraiture, finding particular favour among naval officers. Standing unsuccessfully for election as an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1788 and again in 1798, Abbott failed to gain admission to the inner circles of the artistic establishment but he was recognised for his remarkable skill in capturing likenesses. In his ‘Anecdotes of Painting’ (1808), Edward Edwards wrote that ‘the heads of [Abbott’s] male portraits were perfect in their likenesses, particularly those which he painted from the naval heroes of the present time.’ Suffering from mental illness, Abbott was certified insane in July 1798 and died in what was described by the diarist Joseph Farington as ‘a state of insanity’ in 1803. (Updated April 2019.