Oval Portrait of Lord Nelson from Lady Hamilton 1805. This is a portrait of Lord Nelson commissioned by Lady Hamilton - Lady Nelson - after Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Lord Nelson was one of the greatest naval commanders in British military history, and the Victory was Lord Nelson’s flagship and where Lord Nelson died after he was shot by a French sharpshooter at Trafalgar (October 21, 1805), and the portrait was given to all of Nelson’s officers who served at The Battle of Trafalgar. Lady Nelson was Emma Lady Hamilton, the wife of Sir William Hamilton, and the mistress of Lord Nelson. William Hamilton was much older than she was and was unable to give her any children, and he was in declining health, so the three of them moved in together - yes, the three of them - at Merton, Lord Nelson’s estate just outside of London, and Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson had a child together in 1801 - her name was Horatia - and Sir Wm. Hamilton gladly consented to this arrangement because he knew he didn’t have long to live. Lord Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and this portrait is a tribute to Lord Nelson by Lady Hamilton, here called Lady Nelson. (Lady Hamilton was married to William Hamilton and was always called Lady Hamilton. She and Lord Nelson never married, but they had a child together and Emma loved Lord Nelson deeply, and the English public knew of the menage-a-trois between Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson, and Sir William Hamilton and just ate it up - Lord Nelson was a national hero and a figure larger than life, and they gladly overlooked the living arrangements the three of them had - actually, the four of them after Horatia was born.) The inscription on the back reads “Lord Nelson. This portrait was given to each officer on H.M.S. Victory by Lady Nelson after the battle of Trafalgar. This picture was purchased at the sale of the effects of Captain Carter of Sandiways, Weston, Herefordshire in 1902. It is said that Captain Carter, who died at the age of 90, was the son of one of Nelson’s officers. Rudhall, Ross-on-Wye, Herbert W Child”. The portrait comes in a gilt - painted frame that measures 5 3/4 x 4 5/8 in. wide and Nelson ’ s portrait is under glass, with a naval decoration at the top of the frame. A fitting tribute to one of the greatest naval heroes of all time, and a mark of the devotion Lady Hamilton - Lady Nelson - had for Lord Nelson. The muster roll for the HMS Victory lists a total of 820 personnel on board the Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar, but about only 119 officers altogether. The roll included Captain Thomas Hardy, 9 commissioned officers, 16 non - commissioned and warrant officers, 21 midshipmen, 61 petty officers, 1 captain of the Royal Marines and 3 Royal Marine lieutenants, 7 non-commissioned Marine officers, and numerous supply and able seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen, boys, and Royal Marines, so there weren’t many of these memorial portraits commissioned by Lady Nelson for the officers - maybe 119 portraits, according to the muster list, which makes this portrait a rare piece of Nelson history, indeed. Overall size: 5 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. Image size: 3 x 2 1/2 in.