A New Zealand artist, Ernest Chapman was born in 1847. He grew up in Wellington, and in 1865 moved with his family to Dunedin. Chapman worked on the land, managing his family's station until 1881 when his father died, and then become a partner in another station. He painted with Charles D. Barraud, whose daughter he married. He exhibited watercolours with the Otago Art Society until 1888 when he moved to Melbourne and became a professional artist.