Born on 7th January 1856 in London, died on 17th August 1927 in London. Richard Caton Woodville is regarded as one of the most famous war and battlefield painters in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was a son of an American painter of the same name who had settled in London in 1852. Studied in Düsseldorf under the great Prussian military painters Wilhelm Camphausen and Eduard von Gebhardt and in Paris under Gérôme. Worked most of his life for The Illustrated London News and reported the Russo-Turkish War of 1878, the Egyptian campaign of 1882 and the First Boer War. Exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1879. Accompanied the Duke of Clarence on his Indian tour in 1889–90 and executed commissions for Queen Victoria. Author of Random Reminiscences 1913. During his life, he enjoyed a great popularity and a reputation of the best artist of his genre. Today, his paintings can be found in the collection of the British National Army Museum, the Tate and Walker Art Galleries and the Royal Academy.
Richard Caton Woodville visited Macedonia in the turbulent period of 1902-1903 where he was a reporter of Illustrated London News from the region. He produced numerous reports, watercolors and drawings illustrating the political situation before, during and after the Ilinden Uprising. His works of art illustrated the Macedonian Liberation struggle and the suffering of the Macedonian people in these difficult years. Many reproductions of his works of art and reports from the field can be found in The Illustrated News issues from 1902, 1903 and 1904.