William Marshall Brown was born in Edinburgh in 1863. As a youth he was engaged in wood engraving and book illustration, and studied Art as an evening student at the Royal Institution. He was a Member of the Academy’s Life School from 1884 to 1888, gaining the Stuart Prize and on two occasions the Chalmers Bursary.

Many of his studies at the Royal Scottish Academy Class were in water-colour, a medium in which he excelled, but which, as some may regret, he seldom made use of for his exhibited work. His election to the Academy as Associate took place in 1909, and in 1928 he was made a full member.

In 1929 he was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water Colours. He was an original member of the Society of Scottish Artists, and Chairman during 1905. Marshall Brown’s typical pictures were of sunny shores or harbours with children or fisherfolk.

William was married to fellow artist May Marshall Brown. The artistic couple are both featured in the "Impressionism Through Time" exhibition at the Petley Jones Gallery in May 2025.