 As a gay man at a time when homosexual practices were illegal in Britain , Walpole conducted a succession of intense but discreet relationships with other men , and was for much of his life in search of what he saw as " the perfect friend " . He eventually found one , a married policeman , with whom he settled in the English Lake District . Having as a young man eagerly sought the support of established authors , he was in his later years a generous sponsor of many younger writers . He was a patron of the visual arts and bequeathed a substantial legacy of paintings to the Tate Gallery and other British institutions . 
