Art Collections Online

Born in Pembrokeshire, Erasmus Gower (1742-1814) rose to the rank of Admiral of the White in 1810. His career included exploration of the coast of Patagonia, 1789, command of the vessel which took Lord Macartney's mission to China, 1792, and the Governorship of Newfoundland, 1804. Livesey, drawing master at the Royal Naval College at Portsea, painted portraits and marine subjects. This portrait of the sitter in Rear Admiral's uniform was probably painted on his promotion to that rank in 1799.