William Scrope (1772–1852) was an English sportsman and amateur artist, known as a writer on sports. William Scrope self portrait

Life

He was son of Richard Scrope, D.D., and succeeded to the property of the Scropes of

Castle Combe Castle Combe is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolis ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, on the death of his father in 1787. In 1795 the Scrope estates of Cockerington,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, also passed to him. He was a classical scholar, a sportsman devoted to

deer-stalking Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot with the intention of hunting for meat, for leisure/trophy, or to control their numbers. As part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting and ...

and

salmon-fishing Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus ''Oncorhynchus' ...

, and landscape artist. Scrope rented a place near Melrose, where he lived on good terms with

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

. He was a member of the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

of Rome, and a fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. He died at his house in

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for t ...

, London, on 20 July 1852.

Works

Scrope published two books, ''The Art of Deerstalking'' (1838, reissued 1885), and ''Days and Nights of Salmon-fishing in the Tweed'', (1843, reissued 1883). They were both illustrated with plates after

Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...

Charles Landseer Charles Landseer (12 August 1799 – 22 July 1879) was an English painter, mostly of historical subjects. Life He was born in London on 12 August 1799, the second son of the engraver John Landseer, and the elder brother of the animal painter ...

David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...

William Simson William Simson (1798/9929 August 1847) was a Scottish portrait, landscape and subject painter. Biography Simson was born at Dundee in 1798/99. He studied under Andrew Wilson at the Trustees' Academy on Picardy Place in Edinburgh, and his early ...

, and others. Painting views in Scotland, Italy, Sicily, and elsewhere, Scrope exhibited occasionally at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, and later at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

, of which he was an active director. He was frequently assisted in his work by William Simson, R.S.A.

Family

Scrope was a direct descendant of

Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton ( 1327 – 30 May 1403) was an English soldier and courtier, serving Richard II of England. He also fought under the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy in 1346. Biography Richard le Scrope was a Knig ...

, and was the last male representative of his family. He married, in 1794, Emma Long, daughter of Charles Long, of

Grittleton Grittleton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, northwest of Chippenham. The parish includes the hamlets of Foscote, Leigh Delamere, Littleton Drew and Sevington, and part of the hamlet of The Gibb. The Gauze Brook, a smal ...

, Wiltshire, and had an only daughter and heir, Emma Phipps; she married, in 1821, George Poulett Thomson, who then assumed the name and arms of Scrope.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Scrope, William 1772 births 1852 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English landscape painters Landscape artists English writers 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists