James Alderson (1742–1825), Surgeon (1772–1793), Physician (1793–1821) (the artist's father-in-law)

John Opie's 1798 portrait of James Alderson is a work of particular personal significance: Alderson was the artist's father-in-law, the father of Amelia Alderson, whom Opie married in 1798 — the very year this portrait was made. Alderson was a Norwich physician who served both as surgeon and later as physician at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital across a long career spanning more than fifty years. Opie himself had risen from extremely humble origins in Cornwall — his father was a carpenter — to become one of the most celebrated portrait and history painters in Britain, elected to the Royal Academy in 1787. The portrait of Alderson therefore represents a moment of personal and professional integration: the newly married painter immortalising his father-in-law at the height of his own career. The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's holding of this work maintains its connection to the institution Alderson served.

Opie's mature portrait technique is characterised by bold, strongly modelled forms and a relatively dark overall tonality influenced by his admiration for Rembrandt and Caravaggio. The face is built up with decisive impasto in the lights and transparent glazes in the shadows, creating a sculptural quality quite different from Ramsay's softer approach. His handling of the dark professional coat is rapid and assured.