Thomas Roberts

Thomas Roberts (circa 1748–1778) was an Irish landscape artist.

Early life Born into a family of artists in County Waterford, he was the eldest son and fourth child of architect John Roberts and his wife Mary Susannah Sautelle, who was of Huguenot descent. Roberts was baptised on 22 May 1748 in Waterford. Roberts enrolled in the Dublin Society Schools in 1763, winning an award in his first year. He studied landscape painting under James Mannin.

Death and legacy Roberts was living in Bath and Bristol in 1776, and for a short time recovered. Later in 1776 The younger Roberts, an architect, finished some of his elder brother's paintings and became a successful artist in the early 19th century.

After his death, a number of Roberts works were attributed to William Ashford, but a retrospective on his bicentenary in 1978 renewed interest in his work. In 2009, the National Gallery of Ireland exhibited 50 of his works to coincide with a new book on Roberts.

List of paintings Lucan House and Demesne, c. 1770 – Oil on canvas commissioned by Agmondisham Vesey of Lucan House, County Dublin; now owned by the National Gallery of Ireland. Stormy Sea, c. 1770 – Oil on canvas; private collection, owned not named (1985). Landstorm, 1780 – Oil on canvas; owned by Richard Wood (1985). A River in Spate by a Ruined Tower and Bridge, c. 1780 – Oil on canvas; owned by Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. (1985).