This portrait was commissioned by the Museum's Trustees on the sitter's retirement as Chairman in 1972. Runciman is shown in profile and slightly from above in a dark suit and tie, facing right, seated in a wooden bow-backed chair. His pose is relaxed, with his hands folded on his lap, and he leans back in the chair with his weight somewhat on his right elbow over the chair arm. The corner of a table is included in front of him, lower left. On this are a small rectangular portulan-pattern chart, (probably a reproduction), a pair of historic-pattern brass navigator's dividers and the so-called 'Armada' astrolabe of about 1588 (NAV0022) from the NMM collection, or one of the Museum's modern replicas of it. In the upper right corner on the plain grey background wall is part of an image of William Borough's portulan chart of the Atlantic coasts of Europe of about 1580 (G215:1/5), showing the east coast of England and part of the North Sea.

Runciman came from a well-known ship-owning family and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, being a scholar at both. He was a Director of Lloyd's Bank from 1932, its Deputy Chairman 1962-71 and Chairman of the North of England Shipowners' Association in 1931-32, and again in 1970-71. In 1940-43, during the Second World War, he was Director-General of BOAC before becoming Air Attaché in Tehran in the rank of Air Commodore, 1943-46. In 1949 he succeeded to his father's viscountcy (created 1937), becoming President of the Chamber of Shipping and Chairman of the General Council of British Shipping in 1952, and served on many other business, public and other bodies especially, but not exclusively related to shipping and air transport. He was a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum 1955-72 and Chairman from 1962, subsequently also being the first Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Historic Wrecks 1973-86, following the Protection of Historic Wrecks Act of 1973. His other honours included the OBE (1946) and the Air Force Cross for war service. Runciman played an incisive part in the mid-20th century development of the National Maritime Museum. This was not least in his appointment of Basil Greenhill, its dynamic third Director from 1967. That year also saw the first full opening of the Royal Observatory as part of the Museum, the renovations having largely been completed under Frank Carr, the second Director, in the previous years of Runciman's term as Chairman.

The artist, John Ward (1917-2007), was born and educated in Hereford, trained at the Royal College of Art and saw war service in the Royal Engineers, 1939-46. He worked for 'Vogue' magazine, 1948-52, before becoming a fully independent artist and portrait painter. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1956 and Academician in 1966 (resigned 1997). He is a former Vice President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (member from 1952) and was appointed CBE in 1985. He recalls (Aug. 2004): 'Lord Runciman was good to talk to. I remember he had gone with his father to Moscow to present Stalin with the sword of honour - quite a moment.'