James Holland began his career painting flowers on pottery at the works of John Davenport in Longport, Staffordshire. In 1819, after seven years in the pottery works, Holland moved to London. Here he continued at first to work as a pottery painter but also gave drawing lessons and undertook his own watercolours of flowers and natural history subjects. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1824, and went on to exhibit extensively at the Society of Painters in Water-Colours, the British Institution and the Society of British Artists. After 1828 Holland painted primarily in oils, and following a visit to the continent in 1831, moved away from flowerpieces in favour of architectural and marine subjects.