William Hoare, called Hoare of Bath, studied under Grisoni (1699-1769) and Imperiali (Francesco Ferdinandi) in Rome. He returned to England in 1728 and mainly practiced at Bath, where he was very successful, being the first fashionable painter to live and work in this spa town. In 1759 Gainsborough joined him and they portrayed the society which assembled there for the healing waters and the social life of the city. (extracted from William Drummond, An Exhibition of Portraits and Figures, London, n.d.)