William Walls RSA 1860-25/06/1942

William Walls was born in 1860 and studied art at the School of Design and the Academy Life School after finishing his studies at Dunfermline High School. He went on to work under M. C. Verlat at the Academy in Antwerp and even at this time, his interests centred around the painting of animals.

Upon his return to Scotland, his focus was mainly on domestic animals until the formation of the Edinburgh Zoological Garden in 1839 allowed him to focus on a wider breadth of animals. He was active in the formation of this Zoological Park and was a member of the Executive Council for a time.

He was elected ARSA in 1901 and RSA in 1919.