As a lieutenant commanding the schooner 'Pickle', John Richards Lapenotiere first came to public notice for helping rescue the crew of the 'Magnificent' when this 74-gun ship was wrecked off Brest in 1804. Most famously, still in 'Pickle', he carried home the Trafalgar dispatches in 1805, landing at Falmouth and posting to London by road non-stop with the news of victory and Nelson's death.

He is here shown three-quarter length, to the right, in captain's (under three years) full-dress uniform 1795-1812. His left hand holds the hilt of the 100-guinea Lloyd's Patriotic Fund sword, presented to him on his return to England with the dispatches, with the name 'Pickle' visible on the scabbard decoration. A collection of seals and a watch key hang from the fob at his waist. The identity of the artist is unknown.

The portrait originally formed a pair with another depicting the sitter's second wife, Mary Anne Lapenotiere (née Graves). Both paintings were offered to the Museum in 1939 by Fanny Amelia Cranstoun (née Legge), their granddaughter in Tasmania, who inherited them from her mother Elizabeth Graves Legge, the Lapenotieres' daughter. The Museum acquired Captain Lapenotiere’s portrait, but Mary Anne’s portrait was returned to the family.