William C. Craig was born in Ireland in 1829.  Primarily a watercolorist, he came to the United States in 1863.  In 1866 he was one of the founding members of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors along with William Hart and Samuel Colman.  He painted mostly in the northeast in the style of the Hudson River School painters.

He exhibited at the National Academy of Design form 1864 to 1870.

He died in 1875 at Lake George, NY, apparently by drowning.

His works are in the collection of the New York Historical Society.