Glen of Luss near Loch Lomond, Scotland: cottages in a mountainous landscape, with Beinn Chaorach and Beinn Eich in the distance; and Woman and child with a shepherd, a lake and a valley beyond

Little is known about Williams' early career but it is believed that he took classes in Glasgow with David Allan and Alexander Nasmyth. He was also an acquaintance of J.M.W. Turner with whom he is known to have sketched. He occasionally painted in oil, but is better known for his work in watercolour in which he employed broad washes of light colour to great effect. The present pair of watercolours were probably executed between 1793 and 1794 when Williams ran a drawing academy in Glasgow and before he set off on an expedition around Europe. In April 1794, views of Loch Lomond were offered for sale in the shop of the printer and bookseller David Niven. Niven published a print for Williams in that year, and it was probably his works that were advertised (see Glasgow Courier, 5 April 1794, p. 3(C)). The National Gallery in Scotland has a brown wash drawing of the view of the lake, bequeathed by William Findlay Watson in 1881, and a signed version of the second watercolour was sold at Sotheby's in London, 14 March 1985, lot 109.

Glen Luss, in the vicinity of Loch Lomond, in Argyll and Bute, is a popular destination for hill-walkers keen to climb the 'Corbett' range of hills that include the two visible in the present watercolour, Beinn Chaorach (in the centre) and Beinn Eich (on the right).