A half-length portrait to right wearing captain's full-dress uniform over three years, 1748-67. A ship is shown in the right background flying a Union flag and with an ornately carved stern. Another ship flying the Union flag is implied on the far right firing a salute. A classical column is suggested on the left with a swag of red cloth bordered in gold.

The portrait was almost certainly painted between 1754 and 1758, when the sitter was in America as Governor of Georgia. This status is suggested by the attributes included in the portrait and the way that the artist has concentrated on the depiction of gold on the collar, cuffs, curtain and richly decorated stern of the ship. From 1746 to 1751 Reynolds commanded the 'Arundel', 24 guns, initially in the Channel and then on the American station. There she was chiefly at anchor in Charleston, standing by to intercept the pirates which infested the area at that time. In 1754 he went back to Georgia for four years as Governor. He continued in fairly constant employment until receiving his flag in 1775.

The artist is best known for his half-length portraits of the wealthy residents of Charleston and Georgia. Born in Chur, Switzerland, he emigrated with his family to Orangeburg Township, South Carolina, in about 1735. In 1740 he advertised in the 'South Carolina Gazette' as a painter of portraits, landscapes, crests and coats of arms, stating his willingness to travel to plantations to carry out commissions. He was immediately successful and became the regions' most established artist and for 30 years. He travelled a radius of about 100 miles from his Charleston studio to paint subjects in the Carolinas and Georgia. In 1744, he opened an evening drawing school for men and women. His successful career meant he was respected in his community and prospered sufficiently to amass both land and slaves. The particular stylistic characteristics of the artist's work included elongated features and the position of the sitter, and both elements are present in this portrait. The painting is inscribed 'Vice Admiral John Reynolds, 1786'.