Hughson Hawley was a self-taught watercolorist and theater set designer.

He was born in Brighton, England, and began his career by painting sets for the Theatre Royal in his hometown and, later, for the theater at Stratford-on-Avon, where his father was the town librarian. At the same time, he started sketching the countryside around London and became especially adept at drawing architecture.

After moving to New York City in 1879, at the invitation of the American producer James Steele MacKenzie, Hawley became a leading designer in America of theater backdrops. He also created architectural renderings, working for such noted firms as McKim Mead & White, York & Sawyer, and Cass Gilbert, as well as producing illustrations for Harper's Magazine and other publications.

Hawley retired to Brighton, England, in 1931.

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton