Sir John Eardley Wilmot (1709–1792), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas

This portrait of Sir John Eardley Wilmot, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, depicts one of the most respected judges of the Georgian era. Dance's judicial portraits document the senior legal figures who shaped British common law during a formative period. Dance's portraits combined the formal conventions of Grand Manner portraiture with a cooler, more austere palette and sculptural figure treatment that reflected his years studying in Rome under the influence of Pompeo Batoni.

The judicial portrait renders Wilmot with the gravity appropriate to his high office, Dance's academic technique creating a dignified image that combines official authority with personal characterization.