Thomas Roberts

Major Sir John Fitzgerald, 3rd Bt., (1884-1957) 21st Knight of Kerry, M.C.;
His sale, Christie's London, 23rd June 1950, lot 53, sold as one of a pair with A Ruined Church amoung Trees (bt. Colnaghi for £85)

E. Waterhouse, The Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters, 1981, illus. p. 314;
to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings of Thomas Roberts by William Lassen 

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in excellent condition. There is some minor scattered retouching visible in the sky on the left of the canvas, as well as a small number of minor scratches in the lower centre of the painting. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals minor scattered flecks of retouching in the sky to the left of the picture as well as an old varnish overall. FRAME Held in a Neoclassical style frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Previously untraced, this dramatic landscape has not been seen in public for a number of decades. Painted in 1775 it has in recent years been know only through a black and white illustration in Ellis Waterhouse's Dictionary of 18^th Century Painters, published in 1981. 

A spectacular example of the artist's work the painting is emblematic of Roberts's depictions of the dramatic effects of blustery weather and disturbed water, exemplifing those qualities which Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin described as 'capturing the vaporous atmosphere of Ireland'. In the central foreground a raging torrent cascades down a rocky hillside, whilst a colossal tree is blown ragged in the wind. The landscape is devoid of civilisation, save for the diminutive figure of a lone man struggling through the storm, his clothes torn from his body, forced to grasp for his hat. In the distance his wife and horse struggle far behind, battered by the elements. Delicately painted, the handling of the foliage is almost that of a miniaturist, yet the force of the storm, which bends that foliage to its will, is compellingly felt and the painting is dominated by the force of the wind which thrashes the landscape. Through all this turmoil soft evening light, typical of the artist's love of half-lights, infuses the painting with an evocative nostalgia, its long shadows indicating the approaching darkness of evening.

The leading painter of Irish romantic landscapes in his day and an artist of exceptional talent, Thomas Roberts was born in Waterford, the eldest son of the architect John Roberts and his wife Mary Susanna, the daughter of Major Francis Sautelle, a French officer who had served under William III. In 1763 Roberts entered the Dublin schools where he was taught by James Mannin, before being apprenticed to the landscape painter George Mullins. As well as being an artist and one time pupil of John Butts, Mullins ran a pub in Dublin, and it is reported by Pasquin that Roberts earned his keep painting over the black eyes and scars of those proprietors of his master tap-room who had been brawling the evening before. An artist of great talent he was also a pupil of John Butts, and tempered the style of Vernet with Dutch elements.  

A victim of tuberculosis for most of his adult life, between 1766 and 1773 Roberts exhibited fifty six works at the Society of Artist, gaining a reputation almost immediately as the most brilliant landscape painter of the second half of the eighteenth century in Ireland. His career was tragically cut short however when, in 1778, he travelled to Lisbon in an effort to assuage his condition and died there the same year.

During his short-lived but prolific career Roberts was patronised by many of the leading figures of the Irish establishment, including the Duke of Leinster, the Earl of Rosse, Viscount Cremorne and the Veseys of Lucan. One of his most influential patrons was Simon, 1^st Earl Harcourt, whilst he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1772 and 1777. A leading aesthete, Harcourt had founded the Society of Dilettante with Sir Francis Dashwood in 1734, and was the first major patron of Paul Sandby, the leading English landscape painter of the same generation. The Earl commissioned at least two landscapes from Roberts, which are among the artists most exceptional works, and it is believed that it may well have been through Harcourt that he was introduced to English patronage.