Lot 38: George Dance the Younger RA (British, 1740-1825)

Portrait of Thomas Wall together with a portrait of a gentleman by Richard Dighton
one signed and inscribed 'Geo: Dance Oct 20th 1796' l.r.
pencil
25 x 18.5 cm. (10 x 7 1/4 in.); 23 x 16.5 cm. (9 x 6 1/2 in.) (2).

The architect and portrait artist George Dance the Younger was one of the original members of the Royal Academy. From about 1793 onwards, George Dance drew a series of over 100 portraits in pencil of his friends and acquaintances. Fifty-three of them (all artists) were bought by the Royal Academy, and the rest sold privately in 1898, on the death of Dance's grandson. In 1808-14, 72 of the portraits appeared in a portfolio, engraved by William Daniell RA.