He was enabled to prosecute his studies in painting through the generosity of his uncle, William Etty, who in 1806 invited him to London.
In 1807 he entered the Royal Academy School, studying under Henry Fuseli, and he also studied privately for a year under Sir Thomas Lawrence, whose influence for some time dominated his art.
He copied a great deal from the old masters in the National Gallery and was a constant student in the Life School of the Academy, even after he had become an Adademician.
He paid a brief visit to Paris and Florence in 1816, and in 1822 he took a longer journey to Italy, spending most of his time in Venice. From his studies of the Venetian masters he acquired that excellence in color for which his works are chiefly known.
