Francis Swain Ward, whose Indian views predate the work of William Hodges in India by twenty years, had a dual career, as a professional artist and as an officer in the East India Company's Madras Infantry regiment, serving mostly in south India. He served from 1757 until 1764 when he resigned and returned to London, exhibiting paintings at the Chartered Society of Artists between 1770 and 1773. He returned to India in 1773 where he remained until his death at Negapatam in 1794.