Portrait of Charles James Fox (1749-1806), half-length, in a blue coat, a draped column behind

One of the greatest of Britain's statesmen, Fox was born in 1749, the second surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Lord Holland (1705-1774). He was educated at Eton and Oxford, and became a Member of Parliament at the age of 19. He became Lord of the Admiralty, Lord of the Treasury in 1773, and Secretary of State in 1782. After the defeat of his India Bill in Lord North's coalition, he headed the opposition to Pitt's Ministry, until he retired in 1797. He returned in 1802, and was made Foreign Secretary in 1806, but died shortly afterwards.

This picture is based upon the three-quarter-length portrait of Fox in the collection of the Earls of Leicester, at Holkham Hall.