 William Etty was born in York in 1787, the son of a miller and baker. He showed artistic promise from an early age, but his family were financially insecure, and at the age of 12 he left school to become an apprentice printer in Hull. On completing his seven-year indenture he moved to London "with a few pieces of chalk-crayons in colours", with the aim of emulating the Old Masters and becoming a history painter. Etty gained acceptance to the Royal Academy Schools in early 1807. After a year spent studying under the renowned portrait painter Thomas Lawrence, Etty returned to the Royal Academy, drawing in the life class and copying other paintings. He was unsuccessful in all the Academy's competitions, and every painting he submitted for the Summer Exhibition was rejected.
