ABSTRACT
The well-known portrait of William Roscoe in the Walker Art Gallery was painted by Sir Martin Archer Shee between 1815 and 1817 and shows the sitter surrounded by the trappings of a gentleman. A casual viewer unfamiliar with Roscoe’s biography and the scene set by the objects and background might mistake him for a well-to-do man, a person of quality sitting in his study in the midst of his favourite possessions, with a rich library showing through an open door. By the time this portrait was completed, Roscoe had risen from his lowly origins to become a highly educated man and successful author, a politician, collector and art connoisseur, the owner of a beautiful house – and had also lost nearly all of his treasures. The portrait that we see now in Liverpool was commissioned by Roscoe’s close friend Thomas Coke and actually depicts him at Coke’s Norfolk seat, Holkham Hall, against the backdrop of the library where he spent much time reorganizing Coke’s collection of manuscripts; originally the portrait was displayed in situ. 2 Contrary to the image of a gentleman conveyed by the Shee portrait, his family background and lack of formal education did not augur well for the young man; nonetheless, Roscoe became a successful lawyer. 3 Unstoppable intellectual curiosity drove him to teach himself Latin and to explore the history and literature of ancient Rome. 4 Encouraged to study the literature, history and culture of Italy, he became aware of the importance and development of art in the Renaissance period. Following Vasari’s theory of art as work in progress, the result of hard endeavour, ceaseless study of antiquities and inspired teaching, Roscoe started to collect paintings, drawings, engravings and woodcuts. He became one of the first people in Britain to appreciate the creations of the painters of the early Renaissance (c.1250–1450). 5 Up to this point British collectors, influenced by Vasari’s ideas of a development of the arts that reached its peak with Michelangelo, had preferred antiquities or the art of the High Renaissance and the Baroque, in particularly works by the Carracci. 6 Convinced Sir Martin Archer Shee, Portrait of William Roscoe, oil on canvas, 1815–17. Walker Art Gallery [WAG] 3130. Courtesy of National Museums Liverpool https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315607047/4ce7dd7b-74d3-40b6-b89e-677577ad368b/content/fig9_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> of the importance of patronage for the survival of the arts and of civilization in general, he co-founded the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts of Painting and Design in Liverpool in 1773. A co-founder and board member of many artistic societies in Liverpool, Roscoe was the first person in Britain to organize a public exhibition of artworks outside London, held in Liverpool in 1784. This exhibition included two drawings by Roscoe’s own hand and brought him to the attention of Joshua Reynolds. 7
