Edwin Long was born in Bath born, 1829. In his youth he tried several times to enroll at the Royal Academy, but was refused due to his deficiencies in drawing. As a result of these setbacks he moved back to Bath.

On the advice of a friend, John Phillip whose own career was faltering and been revitalized by a sojourn Spain, recommended he visit there. After three trips to Spain beginning in 1857, Long found a talent for Spanish genre paintings.

In 1874, Long visited the Holy Land, and produced some large paintings of incidents taken from the Bible. One of his paintings "The Babylonian Marriage Market" was a great success at the Royal Academy in 1875. It was sold for the enormous sum of £7350, making him financially secure.

Longs' paintings, like those of Alma-Tadema, were praised for their accuracy of the historic settings and precise renderings of historical artefacts. Long produced a number of very large paintings of biblical scenes which made him a wealthy, high profile artist. Long became a full Academician in 1881.

He died suddenly of pnuemonia in 1891 and his popularity quickly declined.

Although Edwin Long was known as an academic artist, many of his works are considered to be more in the style of Orientalism. His works remain in the eye of the beholder.