John White Alexander was born on, what is now, the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was reared by his grandparents where he had first-hand knowledge of the tough life of steel workers. At the age of 12 John became a telegraph boy in Pittsburgh. His drawing talent attracted the attention of one of his employers, who assisted him in developing them.

At the age of eighteen, he moved to New York and worked in an office at Harper's Weekly, where he was an illustrator and political cartoonist. Many celebrated illustrators were also working there Pyle, Abbey, and Pennell, just to name a few.

After an apprenticeship of three years, he traveled to Munich for his first formal training. He then studied in Florence, the Netherlands, and Paris.

In 1881 he returned to New York and speedily achieved great success in portraiture. His first exhibition was in 1893 at the Paris Salon. It was a brilliant success and soon after he was elected to the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts.

Throughout his career, Alexander received great honors. In 1901 he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, and in 1902 he became a member of the National Academy of Design. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Among the gold medals received by him were those of the Paris Exposition in 1900 and the World's Fair at St. Louis in 1904.

John White Alexander died in 1915, New York.