William Crothers Fitler was born in Philadelphia and studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was a tonalist landscape painter and most of his works depict views of New York, Connecticut or Long Island. Fitler was a member of the Salmagundi Club, New York Watercolor Club, Brooklyn Art Association, Artists Fund Society and New York Municipal Art Society. He exhibited throughout the American Northeast and Midwest, including the National Academy of Design (1880-1907), Brooklyn Art Club (1881-1886), Boston Art Club (1891-1908), the Pennsylvania Academy (1879-1898) and the Art Institute of Chicago (1889 - 1911).