Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784)

Jeremiah Milles, painted in 1772, depicts the antiquary who served as Dean of Exeter Cathedral and President of the Society of Antiquaries—one of the central figures in Georgian Britain's organized antiquarian scholarship. Milles was involved in the controversy over the authenticity of Chatterton's Rowley poems, the most significant literary forgery scandal of the eighteenth century. Dance's portrait of a leading antiquary documents his access to the scholarly and institutional world of Georgian intellectual life that complemented his service to the aristocratic and political elite. The Society of Antiquaries, which Milles presided over, was one of the principal organizations through which Georgian Britain engaged systematically with its own history and material culture.

The portrait follows the established format for depicting scholarly clergymen, with books or manuscripts suggesting the sitter's intellectual pursuits. Dance's smooth technique and muted palette convey Milles's scholarly gravitas without ostentation.