Roberts, Thomas Sautelle (1760–1826), artist, was born in Waterford city, son of John Roberts (qv), architect, and his wife, Mary Susannah Sautelle. His elder brother was Thomas Roberts (qv). He was christened Sautelle, but took his brother's Christian name on the latter's early death (1778), in order to benefit from his renown. He was originally articled to the architect Thomas Ivory (qv), master of the architectural drawing school of the Dublin Society, but by 1777 was attending the school of figure drawing and the school of landscape and ornament drawing. Resolved to become an artist, he probably learned by copying or finishing his brother's works. The benefit of his early architectural training is manifest in some of his later watercolours of street scenes. Dividing his time between London and Dublin, he exhibited work at the Royal Academy between 1789 and 1811, and again in 1818, and at the British Institution from 1807 to 1818. From 1800 he exhibited frequently from various addresses at the Society of Artists of Ireland. A landscape painter like his brother, his early works were mostly watercolours and in January 1802, thanks to the patronage of the viceroy, Lord Hardwicke (qv), he held a solo exhibition of watercolours, mainly of Co. Wicklow, in the former parliament house, Dublin. The drawings formed part of an ambitious uncompleted project, ‘Illustrations of the chief sites, rivers and picturesque scenery of the kingdom of Ireland’, for which Roberts had already issued twelve aquatints between 1795 and 1799. The anonymous critic known as ‘the Unknown Diarist’, whose diary is in the RIA, noted that Roberts had two aquatint styles: one, in imitation of oil, was dashing and careless with strongly contrasting shade and light; the other manner was soft, ‘nearly fuzzy, dead colouring and always autumnal’ (RIA MS 24K14, July 1801).
After this exhibition Roberts concentrated more on oils, in which he became proficient. His work bears a strong superficial resemblance to his brother's (attribution of certain paintings is still in dispute) but he lacked the latter's delicate touch; paint is more heavily applied and the light effects are stronger, creating cruder, more robust landscapes. His depiction of animals was good, and he had a particular feel for rushing water. A prolific artist who showed over sixty works at the Society of Artists between 1800 and 1810, he was held in high regard by colleagues, and when the Royal Hibernian Academy was founded (1823) he was among three artists nominated to select the first academicians. However, his last years were unfortunate; his shoulder was so severely damaged in a coaching accident in London in 1818 that he became unable to paint and fell into a deep depression, eventually committing suicide (1826) at home in Richmond St., Portobello. He left his estate to his widow Hannah (m. 1799), daughter of Thomas Stephens, a Waterford merchant. Small annuities were left to the youngest children of his nieces and nephews, as he considered that as a youngest child he had suffered neglect. In the year of his death the RHA showed seven of his oils and two watercolours at its first exhibition, and in 1840 showed another six paintings. His widow left the academy six paintings in her will, and these were exhibited in 1853. A number of his oils and watercolours are in the NGI.