William Derby studied under Joseph Barber in Birmingham and subsequently moved to London in 1808. His paintings are rare as his career as an artist was cut short by partial paralysis in 1838. In under thirty years, William Derby showed close to 100 works at various London exhibiting institutions, the majority at the Royal Academy. Although he made a living making copies of old master paintings and from the works of Edwin Landseer, for his own work he chose mainly still-life and portraiture as his subjects.