William Hahn was born in Saxony, Germany in 1829. He studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Dresden and the Dusseldorf Academy. Around 1870, Hahn met the artist William Keith and moved with him first to Boston then San Francisco in 1872 where the two shared a studio. Hahn enjoyed tremendous success, taking extended painting trips throughout California and exhibiting his works at the National Academy of Design in New York. A versatile artist, Hahn is most remembered for his detailed genre scenes. A resident of San Francisco, Hahn died unexpectedly while traveling in Europe in 1887.