William Derby (1786–1847) was born in Birmingham, where he was taught drawing by Joseph Barber. He moved to London in 1808, where his work as a copyist began, drawing reduced drawings for the plates of the Marquess of Stafford's 'Stafford Gallery' engravings published in 1818. His career continued as a portrait and miniature painter until 1825, when he succeeded William Hilton RA in making the drawings for Lodge's Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain, completed in 1834. Throughout the course of this work, he obtained useful introductions, including securing the patronage of the Earl of Derby. In 1838 he was struck by a severe attack of paralysis, leaving him deprived him of speech and the use of one side of his body, but in a few months he had recovered sufficiently to continue his work, which he did with the assistance of his son, Alfred Thomas Derby. Between 1811 and 1842 he exhibited 49 works at the Royal Academy, 16 at the British Institution and 15 at the Society of British Artists.
