William Pierce Stubbs was born in Orrington, Maine, in 1842. He was the son of a shipmaster, and he was probably master of his father's ship from 1863-73. By 1871 he painted what is likely his first ship portrait, and by 1876 he was listed as a marine painter in the Boston city directory. While there, Stubbs shared a studio with Wesley Webber. Later, he had studios in Boston, and Charlestown where it is likely that Badger was his student.

After the death of his wife and daughter, Stubbs sank into a manic depression, and spoke of "spirit magnetism." He was committed in 1894 to Worcester State Hospital, and then to the Medfield State Hospital in 1899. He later died there, in 1909. Stubbs participated in the International Marine Exhibition of 1889, in Boston. His paintings are held in the collections at the Mariner's Museum, the Mystic Seaport Museum, the Beverly Historical Society, the Philadelphia Marine Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Source:
Newman Galleries from Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"

Born in Bucksport, Maine to a sea captain and shipmaster, William Pierce Stubbs became the master of his father's ship in 1863, a post he held for ten years. He was self-taught as an artist, painting his first ship portrait in 1871. By 1876 he was listed as a marine painter in the Boston city directory. He shared a studio with marine painter Wesley Webber and had studios variously in Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown, where Samuel Badger was his student. His early paintings were genre scenes of seaside life in Bucksport, but he later became known for his ship paintings in the tradition of popular ship portraitists. Among his many early works were paintings of the whaling fleets of New Bedford and Nantucket. After 1887, Stubbs developed "melancholia," showing signs of manic-depression following the deaths of his wife and daughter. His work appeared at the International Maritime Exhibition in Boston in 1890, but in 1894 he was committed to the Worcester State Hospital. In 1899 he entered Medfield State Hospital, where he
died ten years later. His works remain highly regarded today and are in the collections of many American museums.