William Roscoe (1753–1831)

William Roscoe, the Liverpool polymath, appears in another portrait by Shee from 1816 at the Walker Art Gallery—a year after the version also in the Walker"s collection. Roscoe"s importance to Liverpool"s cultural life generated multiple portrait commissions, and Shee may have produced this second version for an institutional or family patron. The Walker Art Gallery holds both versions, testament to Roscoe"s central place in the city"s cultural identity.

This version of the Roscoe portrait shows subtle variations from the 1815 painting, with possible differences in pose, costume, or background that distinguish it as a separate work rather than a simple copy. Shee"s technique is consistent between the two versions, with the same warm palette and careful facial rendering. The close dating suggests both were produced during the same period of sittings.