Born on 28 December 1849 in Birmingham (GRO), the artist studied at the Birmingham School of Art.  His wife, Louisa Margaret WATTS, was also a landscape painter. Bednar has identified a Newlyn title by the very prolific artist in 1893, though he had been exhibiting from an address in Liverpool since 1880. (Wood, following Graves, says from 1873).

Watts died in Liverpool on 23 October, 1930, age 80. His wife had pre-deceased him by 16 years.