After the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1792, Hoppner was considered by his contemporaries to be England’s most important portrait painter. Having entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1775, by 1785 Hoppner had risen meteorically from painting the gentry to exhibiting portraits of members of the royal family.

He was appointed Portrait Painter to the Prince of Wales in 1793, and attracted many famous sitters including Admiral Lord Nelson and William Pitt.