Although the sitter has been identified in recent times as Sir Francis Hussey Delaval (1727–1771), eldest son of Captain Francis Blake Delaval and Rhoda Apreece, it is more likely to be his younger brother, Edward Delaval (1729–1814). He is seated, as Cole noted in the late nineteenth century, ‘with a greyhound by his side, doubtless one of the breed for which Seaton Delaval was famous in the time of his brother, Sir Francis’¹. In a group portrait of the Delaval children by Arthur Pond at Doddington (DN64) Edward, who resembles the present sitter, features at the left of the composition with a similar greyhound sporting a gold collar. Here, the sitter appears to be a little older, around fifteen years of age, suggesting that the portrait was made during the mid-1740s. The central portion of the figure has been sewn into a larger full-length canvas, suggesting perhaps that the portrait was created in two distinct phases, and possibly in two different locations. It is possible, for example, that the head was painted in situ at one of the Delaval residences and extended by the artist in his studio.