Cameron arrived in Russia in 1779, also invited by Catherine's agents. Exact details of Cameron's hire remain vague, but on 23 August 1779 an enthusiastic Catherine wrote to Grimm that "At present I am very taken with Mr. Cameron, a Scot by nationality and a Jacobite, great draughtsman, well versed in antique monuments and well known for his book on the "Baths of Rome". At the moment we are making a garden with him on a terrace..." Catherine also wrote that Cameron was raised at the Roman court of the Pretender and that he was a nephew of Jean Cameron of Glen Dessary reflecting a new "romanticized" persona that Cameron assumed in Russia. Cameron settled first in Chernyshev House in Saint Petersburg but soon moved to his own house in Tsarskoye Selo; it was later taken from him by emperor Paul.