The portrait was acquired in 1936 as ’John Hadley‘ by Bartholomew Dandridge and it is possible that some doubt then existed as to the identity of the sitter who looks comparatively young. However, there is a good case for the sitter being Hadley as the sitter is holding an octant which he invented in 1730, and in 1731 presented to the Royal Society, of which he had been a fellow since 1717. The portrait could not, therefore, have been painted before 1731 when Hadley would have been approaching the age of 50, and although the sitter appears younger his dress looks appropriate for someone with scholarly interests. He is wearing a brown coat and a red cap, his left hand rests on a book, and the octant is under his right arm. If the attribution to Dandridge is correct it would fit well with a dating of the early 1730s as by then he had established a practice in London, taking over Kneller’s old studio in 1731.