Portrait.

A full-length portrait of Adam Duncan (1731–1804) in admiral’s undress uniform, 1795–1812, with the sash (worn under the coat) and star of the Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. Duncan stands on the deck of the ‘Venerable’, 74 guns, during the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797. The admiral braces himself against a cannon, grasping a telescope in his right hand, his hair blowing in the wind. To the left, a figure in warrant officer’s uniform shouts orders to the men aloft through a speaking trumpet and, behind him, a group of marines aim their guns. The deck is littered with rope and bar-shot and, in the bottom right, it is stained with blood. Lettered beneath the image with the publication line, a dedication to the sitter’s daughter, Miss Jane Duncan, and the title: ‘The Right Honourable Admiral Lord Viscount Duncan when Victorious off Camperdown’. This print was engraved by John Raphael Smith after an original painting by Henri-Pierre Danloux, which is now in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The painting was probably commissioned by Duncan himself in late 1797 or early 1798 to commemorate his victory over the Dutch at the Battle of Camperdown. It is relatively unusual for a naval officer’s portrait of this period because it shows the sitter as if in the midst of action. However, the image is not an accurate representation of the battle but rather an artist’s imagining. This print was published by the painter, Danloux, to coincide with the exhibition of the portrait at his studio in London in May 1800. Adam Duncan entered the navy in 1746 under the care of his maternal uncle, Captain Robert Haldane. He then served under the Honourable Augustus Keppel until promoted to the rank of commander on 21 September 1759, being present at the expedition to Basque Roads in 1757, the reduction of Gorée in 1758 and the blockade of Brest in 1759. While in command of the 'Valiant', he played an important part in the reduction of Belle Isle in June 1761 and Havana in August 1762. After 1763 he was on half pay for fifteen years until 1778. After his return to employment he sat on the court-martials of Keppel and Palliser. In the 'Monarch', he was part of the squadron sent to relieve Gibraltar and took part in the action off St Vincent on 16 January 1780. In the 'Blenheim' he again relieved Gibraltar in 1782 and took part in the action off Cape Spartel. He was promoted to flag rank on 24 September 1787. In February 1795, he was appointed commander-in-chief in the North Sea and charged with blockading the Dutch in the Texel. His fleet was joined by an allied Russian squadron in spring 1797, leading Emperor Paul I to appoint Duncan to the Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, the ribbon and sash of which he wears in Raeburn’s portrait. In October 1797, Duncan’s fleet achieved a crushing over the Dutch at the Battle of Camperdown, after which the admiral came ashore for several months and sat for a number of portraits. He continued in command of the North Sea fleet until 1800, which marked the end of his active career. He died suddenly in August 1804. Henri-Pierre Danloux was a successful portrait painter in his native France, specialising in royal and aristocratic portraits, but fled to Britain in 1792 to escape the French Revolution. In Britain, he established a practice in London and also undertook regular trips to Edinburgh, where he painted portraits of the French royal family in exile at Holyrood and built up a sizeable network of clients among the Scottish nobility, including Duncan. (Updated April 2019.)