William Henry Read was born in Twickenham, England in 1851. Read immigrated to Denver, Colorado in 1890, likely for the dry climate to aid his recovery from Tuberculosis. He was active within the artist community and became a founding member of the Denver Artist's Club (forerunner of the Denver Art Museum). He opened an art school in 1895 and his students included Waldo Love, Elisabeth Spalding and Allen Tupper True. Around 1910, he built a new building to house his art school at Pearl Street and 13th Avenue in Denver. The building later became the studio of Vance Kirkland and the Kirkland Museum. Read is known for his plein air style landscape paintings of Colorado. He also worked as a designer and served as president of the Denver Art Commission. Henry Read passed away in 1935 and is buried in Wheatridge, Colorado.