Hoppner was the son of a German physician working at the court of George II; he was encouraged to become a painter by George III, studying drawings in the Royal Collection as well as attending the RA Schools. In 1793, after the death of Reynolds, Hoppner was appointed Principal Portrait Painter to the Prince of Wales. The Duke of Bedford was a supporter of Charles James Fox (1749-1806) and ally of the Prince of Wales, as well as a agricultural reformer; he built extensively at his country seat, Woburn Abbey. This portrait was presumably commissioned by the Prince of Wales and perhaps exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1797. It shows the sitter wearing peer's robes, holding a scroll of paper (as befits a statesman), with a statue of Hercules (a hero surprisingly associated with eloquence) in the background. Hoppner seems to have received payment of 100 guineas only in 1808 and the portrait was only delivered after his death (by his widow) in 1810. It hung in the 1820s in the East Anti Room of Carlton House in a group of four Hoppner full lengths (RCIN 405408, 405410, 405901, 405902) all then valued at 200 guineas.