Benjamin Herring was the youngest of six children born to John F. Herring, Sr. (1795 – 1865). Like his siblings, Benjamin received all of his training from his father and concentrated all of his efforts on sporting paintings.

Though his style is very similar to the rest of his family – with a realistic rendition of the horse and fluidity of movement – his choice of coloration is quite different. Instead of the deep rich tones so prevalent in the palettes of other members of the Herring family, Benjamin favored a more pastel one.

Benjamin died at the relatively young age of 41 after producing only a small body of work and it is widely believed that his finest paintings were produced towards the end of his career.

During his short career he exhibited a few works at both the Royal Society of British Artists and the British Institution.