An inn near Loch Katrine, in the Trossachs, Stirling

The son of a Leicestershire farmer, Glover was appointed writing master at a school in Appleby, Westmorland, in 1786, and eight years later set up as a drawing master in Lichfield, Staffordshire. He received a few lessons from William Payne, and in 1795 started to exhibit oils at the Royal Academy, which were favourably compared to those of Turner, much to the irritation of John Constable. He was a founder member of the Old Water-Colour Society, in whose opening exhibition of 1804 his works were more highly priced than those of any competitor. He was appointed President in 1807 and 1815, in which year he was the first English artist to be awarded a gold medal at the Paris Salon. In 1831 he emigrated to Tasmania, where he continued painting and had a profound effect on the subsequent development of Australian Art. He refined the technique of painting foliage with a split brush, and in his extensive tours of the British Isles, was much influenced by Claude and Richard Wilson.