Thomas Hearne was a contemporary with Rooker. It was a custom at this period for topographical watercolor artists to travel abroad with British Embassies to foreign countries and with Governors to Colonial possessions. Photography had not yet been invented, and the drawings by these artists were the only means by which the majority of inhabitants of this island were able to obtain some idea of places beyond the sea. Hearne went to the Leeward Isles, as draughtsman to the Governor, and produced records of the scenery there. Afterwards he executed a number of drawings in this country, some of which were engraved in “Antiquities of Great Britain.” View of Gloucester is an example of his accurate drawing, though somewhat weak in colouring.
(In the possession of Victor Rienaecker, Esq.)
