George Hardinge (1743–1816)

George Hardinge, painted around 1773, was a Welsh lawyer, politician, and literary critic who served as Senior Justice of Chester and Brecon and was known for his wit, his friendship with Horace Walpole, and his contributions to literary periodicals. Hardinge moved in the same social world of Whig politicians and literary figures that constituted Dance's primary portrait clientele—the educated, culturally ambitious professional and aristocratic class whose self-presentation through portraiture was both personal and social. Dance's ability to render the characteristic blend of professional dignity and cultivated ease that this class required gave him his sustained commercial success in a market where Reynolds and Gainsborough set the standard.

The portrait captures the sitter's reputation as a man of letters through an alert, engaged expression, with Dance's characteristically smooth technique and restrained background focusing attention on the face.