Born in a suburb of Adelaide, Australia, Lever graduated from Prince Alfred College and studied art with marine painter John Ashton at the Norwood Art School and the Academy of Art. In 1899 he traveled to England for further study, settling in St. Ives, where he worked alongside British impressionist painters Julius Olsson and Algernon Talmage, and traveling regularly to London and Paris. In 1912 he traveled to New York City where he settled permanently. His post-impressionist seascapes were immediately popular. In 1915 he began to visit Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he produced many marine pictures and taught painting and drawing. In 1919 he joined the faculty of the Art Students League where he would teach painting until 1931. Late in his career he focused on still life painting as his health declined.
