Charles Edward Holloway was born in Christchurch and studied at Leigh’s Academy in London. He was a painter and print-maker specializing in landscape and marine subjects. He worked for William Morris as a stained glass designer until 1866 and in 1875 was made an associate of the Royal Institute of painters in water-colour becoming a full member in 1879. In 1885 he became a member of the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers and in 1893, joined the membership of the New English Art Club having first exhibited with them in 1888. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, Fine Arts Society, Grosvenor Gallery, Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and in Manchester, Birmingham and in Paris at the Nationale des Beaux-Arts among many others.