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Captain James Cook (1728–1779)

Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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A three-quarter-length portrait of Captain Cook wearing captain's full-dress uniform, 1774–1787, consisting of a navy blue jacket, white waistcoat with gold braid and gold buttons and white breeches. He wears a grey wig or his own hair powdered. He holds his own chart of the Southern Ocean on the table and his right hand points to the east coast of Australia on it. His left thumb and finger lightly hold the other edge of the chart over his knee. His hat sits on the table behind him to the left on top of a book, perhaps his journal, itself resting on the chart. In 1772 Cook sailed for the second time to the fringes of the Antarctic and the Pacific, returning in 1775. He sat for this portrait, commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks, 'for a few hours before dinner' on 25th May 1776 but it is not known whether he did so again before he left London on 24th June for his third voyage, never to return.

National Maritime Museum

London

Title

Captain James Cook (1728–1779)

Date

1775–1776

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 127 x W 101.6 cm

Accession number

BHC2628

Acquisition method

National Maritime Museum (Greenwich Hospital Collection)

Work type

Painting

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National Maritime Museum

Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England

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