Pallant House Gallery acquires five queer paintings by Leonard Rosoman

Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex, has acquired five paintings by Leonard Rosoman from the 1960s, depicting John Osborne's play "A Patriot for Me." The play, staged in 1965 at London's Royal Court Theatre, told the true story of Alfred Redl, a gay spy in the Austro-Hungarian empire who was blackmailed. To circumvent England's criminalization of homosexuality—decriminalized only two years later—the theatre operated as a private club for the run. The paintings capture controversial scenes including a drag ball where men wore lavish dresses and jeweled suspenders. The works were obtained via acceptance in lieu, settling £96,600 in inheritance tax owed by the painter's widow. This marked a precedent as acceptance in lieu requires the work to be of undeniable national importance. Gallery director Simon Martin stated the works capture an extraordinary moment in theatre and English society. Rosoman attended the play nightly for two weeks to create sketches for the paintings, which show the audience's shock during the drag ball. The acquisition adds a new chapter to LGBTQIA+ history, coinciding with Pride month. The article also notes that the British Museum hosts queer history tours, highlighting William John Bankes, a wealthy Egyptologist forced to leave England after being caught with a soldier in Green Park, who discovered that the Rosetta Stone contained the same text in three scripts, laying groundwork for its translation.