William Clarke Wontner was an Orientalist painter who enjoyed painting seductive women in classical or oriental settings. He followed the neo-classical movement in England, of which Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was the forerunner.

William Clarke Wontner was friends with the family of John William Godward and when Godward exhibited early drawing skills, his family allowed their son to study at least rendering and graining with Wontner on a recreational basis in the evenings. From this experience, he and John William Godward became lifelong friends.

From 1879, Wontner exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of British Artists and the Institute of Painters in Watercolor. He was very talented in portraying women in the Orientalist style which he continued to paint until his death.