Portrait of James Cook

{{Short description|Painting by Nathaniel Dance-Holland}} {{Infobox artwork | image_file=Captainjamescookportrait.jpg | image_upright=1.1 | title=Portrait of James Cook | artist=Nathaniel Dance-Holland | year=c. 1775 | type=Oil on canvas, portrait painting | height_metric=127 | width_metric=101.6 | metric_unit=cm | imperial_unit=in | museum=National Maritime Museum | city=London }}

'''''Portrait of James Cook''''' is an oil on canvas portrait painting by the English Nathaniel Dance-Holland, from {{circa}} 1775.<ref>Quilley & Bonehill p.132</ref> It is held in the National Maritime Museum, in Greenwich.<ref>[https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-14102 National Maritime Museum]</ref>

==History and description== It depicts the British explorer and Royal Navy officer James Cook.<ref>Hamilton p.83</ref><ref>Moon p.138</ref> Known for his voyages in the Pacific Ocean and visits to New Zealand, Hawaii and elsewhere, he was subsequently killed in Hawaii in 1779. Dance-Holland spent many years in Italy before returning to Britain to become a leading portrait painter.<ref>Palmer p.87</ref>

Cook is portrayed seated in a room, with an open window into the sea. He is wearing the dress uniform of a captain and holds his own map of the Southern Ocean with his hand pointing to the eastern coast of Australia.<ref>[https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-14102 National Maritime Museum]</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Hamilton, James C. ''Captain James Cook and the Search for Antarctica''. Pen and Sword History, 2020. * Moon, Paul. ''A Draught of the South Land: Mapping New Zealand from Tasman to Cook''. * Palmer, Allison Lee. ''Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture''. Scarecrow Press, 2011. * Quilley, Geoff & Bonehill, Jane (ed.) ''William Hodges 1744-1797: The Art of Exploration''. Yale University Press, 2004.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of James Cook}} Category:1775 paintings Category:Paintings in Royal Museums Greenwich Category:Oil paintings on canvas Category:Portraits of men Category:18th-century portraits Category:Paintings by Nathaniel Dance-Holland Category:Cultural depictions of James Cook