WILLIAM HODGES (1744-1797)

William Hodges was born in London and as a young man frequented the studio of Richard Wilson, an established landscape painter, where he met Thomas Jones. A decisive experience for his life occurred between 1772 and 1775, when he embarked on the expedition led by James Cook to the Pacific Islands. Returning to England, his reputation as a painter-documentarian earned him a further opportunity and he was among the first paid artists to travel to India, where he remained from 1778 to 1783.

The print alongside (© National Portrait Gallery, London), made by William Daniell from a drawing by George Dance, can be dated to around 1810.