Wilhelm Ludwig Lehmann was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1861. He studied architecture at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich from 1879-1883. In 1884, he began painting studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris followed by further study at the Academic Karlsruhe and at the Academy of Munich. He became friends with with artist Arnold Bocklin and was part of the Munich Secession and was the founder of the Munich Secession Gallery, as well. In 1901, he received the gold medal at the Munich II Glass Palace.

He lived his adult life in Munich, but after WWI took a teaching position at the Technische Hochschle in Zurich. Two of his paintings are presently in the State House in Zurich. He painted ceiling murals in the Federal Palace in Bern from 1920-1930 and also did a series of murals for the Technische Hochschle in Zurich. He is considered an important German Impressionist and is best known for his Plein-Air landscapes. Lehmann died in Merishausen, Switzerland in 1932.