William Fraser Garden was one of the 'Frasers of Huntingdonshire' a family of painters whose subject matter was the Fens and waterways around Huntingdon. He had two artist brothers together with nephews and sisters who also painted. For this reason he differentiated himself by signing his works W. F. Garden.
A painter of beautiful and intense watery landscapes, Garden was born in Kent and raised in Bedford. He was initially an insurance clerk before he turned his full attention to watercolours. His family moved to Hemingford Grey near Huntingdon, he exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1880-90.
Garden struggled financially for his whole life and was declared bankrupt in 1899. His wife took herself and their six children away leaving Garden settled in a room in the Old Ferry Boat Inn in Holywell, Cambridge in 1904 where he remained for the rest of his life. His works are held by the Norris Museum in St Ives, Cambridgeshire amongst others.