The sitter was the son of Sir Philip Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. He studied law at Pembroke College, Oxford, and was called to the Bar in 1683. In 1702 he became solicitor-general to Queen Anne and was given a knighthood. In 1713 he became Lord Chancellor. On the accession of King George I he lost his position of office and retired from politics.
The present portrait compares with a three-quarters length oil painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, now at Pembroke College, Oxford.