Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait was born in Liverpool, England in 1819. He initially trained as a lithographer, however after being exposed to artwork by artists such as, Edwin Landseer, Tait decided to pursue a painting career. Primarily self-taught, Tait honed his talent by copying works at the Royal Institute.

Tait met the American painter, George Catlin, who proved a strong influence on the young artist and helped establish his lifelong interest in frontier living. In 1850, Tait came to America where he pursued his love of hunting and wildlife. Although he worked in Manhattan, Tait spent much of his time in the wilderness of upstate New York. The subjects of his paintings were not much different from his own wilderness pursuits; often depicting realistic hunting scenes. Many of these paintings were made into prints by Currier & Ives and were widely distributed, which added to Tait's already burgeoning success.

Tait strove to keep his paintings true to nature and became one of the most respected painters of wildlife in the 19th century. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Tate Gallery in London, among many others.