A three-quarter-length portrait to the right showing Shovell in armour, wearing a brown full-bottomed wig and holding a baton in his right hand. A ship in action, with a red flag at the mizzen, is in the right background; a close helmet is to the left. The painting is inscribed ‘Sir Cloudesly Shovell’ and was painted between January 1692 and April 1694, or copied from an original of that date.
Cloudesley Shovell entered the Navy in 1664 under the patronage of Sir Christopher Myngs; after the death of Myngs in 1666, he followed Sir John Narborough. He was promoted lieutenant in 1673 and went to the Mediterranean, where he distinguished himself commanding boats that destroyed shipping in Tripoli harbour in 1675. Promoted captain in 1677, he remained in the Mediterranean until 1686.
Shovel was knighted for his service at the Battle of Bantry Bay in 1689 and was significantly involved in the Battle of Barfleur in 1692. He assisted Sir George Rooke in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704 and, as commander-in-chief, captured Barcelona the following year. After the attack on Toulon in 1707 he sailed for home. His ship, the 98-gun ‘Association’ and three others were wrecked on the Scilly Isles.