Portrait of Admiral Philip Affleck (1726-1799)

Full length seated portrait in a carved giltwood frame.

Dimensions refer to size of frame.

This striking full-length portrait of Philip Affleck shows him dressed as a full Admiral, a rank he attained in June 1795. He is seated at a cloth covered table alongside nautical instruments including a globe and dividers, his hand resting upon charts. Through a window a ship is depicted sailing off the Cape of Good Hope, most probably a reference to Affleck’s former career in The East India Company. This composition relates to a smaller portrait of Affleck when he was a Captain, painted by Edward Penny circa 1770 (National Maritime Museum, London).

Affleck trained with the Honourable East India Company prior to transferring to the Royal Navy when he became a lieutenant in 1755. Impressed by Affleck’s talents, Admiral Boscawen made him Commander during the taking of Louisbourg in 1758. A year later he was promoted to captain following the Battle of Lagos. During the War of American Independence, Affleck commanded the ‘Triumph’, fighting at Rodney’s two actions with de Guichen in 1780. In 1787 he was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue Squadron and then Commander-in-Chief to the West Indies from 1790-93. On his return he was elevated to Lord of the Admiralty and additional promotions followed so that by his death, in Bath in December 1799, he was Admiral of the White. Philip Affleck was the younger brother of Adimral Edmund Affleck (1725-88). He came from a family of eighteen children.