John Waterhouse was born in Rome to British parents in 1849, and he lived there for the first six years of his life. He was an avid scholar of ancient history during his youth, and unlike most members of the Royal Academy of Art in London his only education in art was from his father. His first submission to the Royal Academy was rejected which prompted him to seek admission as a sculptor. After gaining entry Waterhouse would return to his first love, painting.

Often considered to be a Pre-Raphaelite artist, Waterhouse never belonged to the brotherhood. His pieces were always original; inspired by his own love of history and myth. Waterhouse and other Victorian age artists are sometimes referred to as "Classicists" because of these romantic tendencies evident in their art.

Waterhouse's most widely exhibited work was "Hylas and the Nymphs". His most famous work was based on the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Alfred Tennyson, showing that Waterhouse was interested in modern day poets as well as those of antiquity.

Only recently has Waterhouse's works resurfaced into the mainstream, he was however in his lifetime considered to be one of the greatest artists of his day.