William Romaine

Inscriptionback to top

Signed and dated, bottom left: FCotes pxt/1758.

This portraitback to top

Painted shortly after Romaine had resigned as preacher at St George’s Hanover Square, where society had effectively objected to the influx of poorer people anxious to hear his enthusiastic sermons.

Referenceback to top

Johnson 1976
E. M. Johnson, Francis Cotes, 1976, no.87.

Physical descriptionback to top

Grey eyes, white powdered wig, wearing black gown and bands, seated in a red chair.

Provenanceback to top

By descent in the Romaine family to William Colin Romaine, Windsor (d. 1924); his sister Gabrielle Enthoven, from whom purchased 1924.

Exhibitionsback to top

Third and concluding exhibition of National Portraits (fortieth year of the reign of George the third to MDCCCLXVII), South Kensington, 1868 (889) lent W. R. Romaine; Cotes, Nottingham, 1971 (12).

Reproductionsback to top

R. Houston; C. Corbutt (with added curtain upper right, damasked chair back and IHS on the spine of the book); reduced plate by Corbutt and another of the head alone, pub. John Bowles; anon. (crude half length) 1774.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

View all known portraits for William Romaine