Captain James Cook, 1728-79

What it is

This oil-on-canvas portrait was painted by Nathaniel Dance-Holland around 1775-76. Cook sat for it for a few hours before dinner on 25 May 1776, shortly before leaving on his third voyage. It was commissioned by Joseph Banks, who had sailed with Cook on his first voyage, and is now held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Why it matters

Cook is shown in captain's uniform, pointing to his own chart of the Southern Ocean with the east coast of Australia visible. A contemporary, the surgeon David Samwell, called it the best likeness of Cook he had seen. It became the standard image used to remember Cook, though it idealises him slightly, for example by leaving out a scar on his hand.

Look closer

• Why might Banks have wanted this portrait made just before Cook's final voyage?
• What does the choice to show Cook with his chart tell you about how he wanted to be remembered?
• What has the painter left out or softened, and why might that matter?