Oil painting, half length with the figure turned to sitter's right, wearing flag officer's full-dress uniform of 1832-33 and the star of a KCB. In command of the 'Niger' in 1797, Foote was the first to make contact with the Spanish fleet before the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 and he served with Nelson during and after the Nile Campaign of 1798. In 1801 he was sent to attend George III at Weymouth and, at his suggestion, appointed to command the royal yacht 'Princess Augusta'. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1812 and was briefly Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth in 1814 before coming ashore at the peace. He did not return to service in the final '100 days' of war following Napoleon's escape from Elba. The 1961 catalogue listing suggests the picture may be posthumous.

The sitter is identified by an inscripton at the top of the original stretcher, albeit mainly covered by an old exhibition label. The artist's name is also inscribed there to the right in the same hand as, apparently, 'Deear Pinxt' though who 'Deear' was remains to be discovered.