Joseph Horlor was born in Bath in 1809 and was a landscape painter of Welsh scenes and coastal views. By 1871 he was living in Bristol with his family. He married Elizabeth Sandys in 1830 and had four children. Both his daughters also became artists, Emma painting animals and Alice figures. He died in 1887. He exhibited 13 paintings at the British Institution and 11 at Suffolk Street (later the RBA) between 1834 and 1866. There are 8 of his paintings in the National Collection, 3 at Bristol Museum, 2 at National Trust properties, a at Shipley Art Gallery, 1 at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath and 1 at the Holbourne Museum. He may have been related to the animal painter George William Horlor, as they both lived in the same area of the country, but we have been unable to confirm this. He is listed in the Dictionary of Victorian Painters by Christopher Wood and Gray's Dictionary, where his exhibits are listed.