James McArdell after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Charles Saunders Esq. Vice Adm.l of the Blue
Squadron of His Majesty's Fleet & Lieut.t General of His Majesty's Marine Forces.

11 x 15.5 inches

A three-quarter length mezzotint portrait engraved by McArdell after the portrait by Reynolds and published in London circa 1765.

This mint condition print shows Vice Admiral Saunders in imposing form, fully uniformed with left hand on the hilt of his sword and right arm resting upon an anchor. An elaborate waistcoat restrains his ample girth and he looks wistfully to the left, presumably out to sea. At the time of this portrait Saunders would have been about 50 years old and at the height of his prowess. In a distinguished naval career, he served under Anson and Hawke before being appointed MP for Plymouth in 1750. He assisted Wolfe in the capture of Quebec in 1759 and was recognised for his achievements by being made a Knight of Bath in 1761. He succeeded as First Lord in 1766 but died of gout related problems in 1775 (hence the substantial stomach we can see in the print).

McArdell was one of the chief exponents of The Irish School, a group of talented engravers who left Dublin and came to London in the middle of the C18th. He was soon spotted by the prodigiously talented and ambitious Joshua Reynolds for whom he engraved many portraits in the 1750s and 60s. He died in 1765 so this print would have been one of his last works.