Early Life, Family and Training

Thomas Hastings was born Thomas Barnett on 20 July 1778 in London, United Kingdom. He entered a family defined by legal standing and sudden social shifts. His father, Edward Barnett, operated as an Attorney of the Court of the King's Bench and a Solicitor of the High Court of Chancery. His mother was Elizabeth Barnett, née Burrough. Thomas grew up alongside his siblings, a sister named Margaret and a brother named Edward.

The stability of the Barnett name proved temporary. Following a conviction for perjury involving his father in 1807, the family underwent a significant rebranding. In 1812, Thomas and his brother Edward abandoned their paternal surname. They adopted the name of their maternal great-grandmother, officially becoming Thomas Hastings. This change marked a definitive break from their father's legal disgrace and established the identity under which the artist would eventually be recognized in professional circles.

Military and Customs Career

Hastings’s professional life was defined by a rigid adherence to administrative and military structures. He entered the British Army at sixteen, joining the 43rd Monmouthshire Regiment of Foot on 3 June 1795. Starting his service with the rank of Ensign, he eventually rose to the rank of Captain in 1799. His military tenure took him as far as India, providing a backdrop of service that lasted until 1811. This period of active duty established a disciplined framework that would persist long after he left the field.

Following his military service, Hastings transitioned into the Customs service, a move that signaled a shift from active soldiering to civil administration. He remained within this department from 1819 until 1853. He eventually attained the high rank of Collector, a position of significant responsibility within the customs hierarchy. This long-term stability in the civil service provided the steady, structured existence that characterized his adult life in the United Kingdom.

Artistic Practice and Style

Hastings operated as a versatile practitioner, working across painting, draughtsmanship, watercolour, and etching. His output focused heavily on the physical geography of the British Isles, specifically through landscapes, topographical views, marine subjects, and coast scenes. His technical approach was heavily shaped by the influence of the Welsh landscape painter Richard Wilson RA. This connection was not merely stylistic but also commercial; in 1824, Hastings published a series of forty etchings based on paintings by Wilson.

His presence in the professional art circuit was established through consistent exhibition. He showed his work at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Society of Painters in Watercolours, the British Institution, and the Hibernian Academy. These appearances, alongside his status as an Associate of the Liverpool Academy, confirm that his work was recognized by the established institutions of the period. He was a dedicated amateur, yet his technical command of etching and watercolour allowed him to move beyond simple hobbyism into the formal exhibition spaces of the nineteenth century.