George Dance the Younger served as the Architect and Surveyor to the Corporation of London for nearly five decades, a position he inherited following his father's death in 1768. A founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts, he bridged the stylistic gap between mid-eighteenth-century classicism and the burgeoning Greek Revival movement in the United Kingdom.
European Education
Born in 1741 in the City of London, Dance attended St Paul's School before embarking on a Grand Tour in 1758. He spent six years in Italy, primarily based in Rome, where he studied draughtsmanship and measured ancient structures such as the Temple of Castor and Pollux and St. Peter's Basilica. In 1763, he secured professional recognition by winning a gold medal in a competition held by the Academy of Fine Arts of Parma for his neoclassical design of a public gallery.
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Returning to London in 1765, Dance established his practice with the rebuilding of All Hallows-on-the-Wall. His appointment as Architect and Surveyor to the Corporation of London allowed him to influence the capital's public face through projects like the Guildhall and Newgate Prison. While many of his major commissions, including the library at Lansdowne House and St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics, have since been demolished, his influence persisted through his mentorship of architects such as Sir John Soane and Sir Robert Smirke.
Artistic Transition
After 1798, Dance shifted his primary professional focus from architecture toward portraiture. He produced numerous pencil profile portraits of London’s artistic circle, which were later published as a collection of etchings by William Daniell. Although he served as a professor of architecture at the Royal Academy from 1798, he delivered no lectures and was dismissed from the post in 1805.
Fast facts
- Born: 1741, City of London
- Died: 1825, London
- Education: St Paul's School
- Key Professional Roles: Architect, Surveyor, Painter
- Notable Works: Guildhall, All Hallows-on-the-Wall, Wesley's Chapel
- Burial Site: St Paul's Cathedral
- Professional Membership: Royal Academy of Arts
- Retirement: 1815
Questions readers ask
What were George Dance the Younger's main occupations?
He worked as an architect, surveyor, artist, and painter.
Where is George Dance the Younger buried?
He is buried in the crypt at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
Achievements
- Notable work: All Hallows-on-the-Wall
- Notable work: Wesley's Chapel
- Notable work: Guildhall
- Trained at St Paul's School
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