Sir George Pocock entered the Navy in 1718 and pursued a successful career that included a command in the Leeward Islands, 1747-8. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White in 1755 and to Vice-Admiral, the following year. He was in command in the East Indies from 1757-9 and fought two indecisive battles with the French. In 1761, he became an Admiral of the Blue and a Knight of the Bath. The following year he captured Havanna, the crowning acievement of his career. He retired in 1766.

Pocock sat to the leading portrait painter, Thomas Hudson, at least twice: a three-quarter length, dated 1749 (Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth) and then in around 1761, for a portrait that depicts him wearing the ribbon and star of the Bath.