A half-length portrait of James Butler wearing armour and facing very slightly to the right. His light brown full bottom wig, neckcloth and red bow are fashionably arranged, and together with the armour, suggest that the sitter was influenced by the French style. He was in France in 1684, and this portrait was probably painted following his return in about 1685, when he was still Lord Ossory. The dating of the portrait is based on the artist’s receipts of payments and the very fashionable neckcloth.

Butler succeeded to the Dukedom in 1688 on the eve of the Revolution at which he lent his powerful support to William. In Ireland his vast estates were seized by James II. Ormond fought with William at the Boyne to win them back. In 1702 he accompanied Rooke on the expedition to Cadiz as Commander-in-Chief of the land forces and shared in the destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet in Vigo Bay. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1703-07 and from 1710-13. In 1711 he succeeded Marlborough in the post of Captain General in Flanders but was prevented by his government from taking an active part in the war. After the Peace of Utrecht he was made Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle. With the death of Queen Anne and the succession of George I, his fortunes fell. He fled to France to join the Jacobite cause in 1715, which he furthered in exile for the rest of his life. In death he was returned to his family vault in Westminster. The artist was an Exeter based painter and the son of James Gandy who worked for the first Duke of Ormond. He had also returned from his study in France shortly before this portrait was painted, which further accounts for the highly fashionable style.