Edward Cotsford (1740–1810), MP for Midhurst

This 1770 portrait of Edward Cotsford, MP for Midhurst, dates from the year Dance was a founding member of the Royal Academy, demonstrating his simultaneous engagement with institutional art politics and commercial portrait practice. Cotsford, representing a pocket borough controlled by the Montagu family, was one of the minor parliamentary figures whose portraits constituted a significant portion of Dance's practice—the professional politicians and country gentlemen who wanted their public service commemorated but lacked the celebrity to attract the most fashionable portraitists. Dance's systematic documentation of Georgian parliamentary culture through portraiture gives his work historical significance beyond purely aesthetic value.

Dance employs a sober, restrained approach suited to a parliamentary portrait, with the figure set against a plain background that focuses attention on the sitter's face and costume. The smooth handling reflects his Italian training under Batoni.