A three-quarter-length portrait to the right, facing left, of the distinguished Royal Naval officer, Samuel Hood, (1724–1816), when he was Rear Admiral of the Blue, wearing the 1774–1783 flag officer's undress uniform and wearing either a white wig or powdered hair. His left elbow rests on a rock and he holds a letter in his right hand, with the right arm across the body. The background – which may be by Dominic Serres – shows the French flagship 'Ville de Paris' (right) surrendering to his flagship 'Barfleur' at the Battle of the Saints (or Saintes) in the West Indies, 12th April 1782, where he was second-in-command to Rodney. The uniform shows that Reynolds must have painted him between his subsequent return to England and when it was changed in 1783. There is an entry recording payment of 100 guineas (£105) for it in Reynolds's ledger, dated 22nd July 1783.