William Stephen Coleman

 Born in Horsham, Sussex, Coleman was one of twelve children of surgeon William Thomas Coleman and his wife Henrietta Dendy. His sister, Helen Cordelia Coleman, was also an artist. After an unsuccessful career as a surgeon, Coleman turned to natural history illustration, collaborating with artists like Harrison Weir and Joseph Wolf. He painted mainly in watercolour, producing landscapes with figures and semi-classical figure subjects similar to those of Albert Joseph Moore. His style placed him in the "toga and terrace" or "marble school" alongside artists like George Bulleid and W. Anstey Dollond.

Coleman also created etchings, worked in pastels, and painted in oil. He was a founding member of the Dudley Gallery's management committee, contributing to its first exhibition in 1865 and continuing to exhibit there until 1879. He remained on the committee until 1881.

In 1869, Coleman began experimenting with pottery decoration. Under his direction, the Mintons Art Pottery Studio in Kensington Gore was established in 1871, where he designed figures for Mintons ceramic ware. Coleman died after a long illness on March 22, 1904, at Hamilton Gardens, St. John's Wood.