he was taught drawing by his father, and from 1750 to 1756 was apprenticed to a woodcarver, william barlow, in london. in his spare time he worked at sculpture, spending his evenings in the studio of the flemish émigré sculptor peter scheemakers. during this period he is known to have worked for the architect william kent. before 1772, when he obtained a travelling studentship given by the royal academy and proceeded to rome, he had already exhibited several fine works.