John Rolle of Bicton, Devon, matriculated at New College, Oxford in 1729 and took the additional surname of Walter on the death of his uncle in 1731. As John Rolle-Walter he became a Tory M.P. for Exeter and Devon. He visited Rome at some point between mid-1752 and the summer of 1753, where he was depicted by Pompeo Batoni (Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter, Devon, 411/2008). There he commissioned or acquired two paintings from Wilson (P63 & P64).