Louis Fairfax Muckley was born at Stourbridge. His father was a glass engraver. He entered the Birmingham School at age 19 and studied there for six or seven years. His work drew the attention of Edward Burne-Jones and W.B. Richmond, both of whom championed his career. He studied early Italian art at the National Gallery, visiting London annually for a week at a time to do so. He exhibited at the New Gallery (Autumn and Spring in 1889) and the Royal Academy (A Sainted Maiden in 1890 and The Weird Lady, 1891). He also illustrated books including R.D. Blackmore, Fringilla (Elkin Mathews, 1895) and Spenser’s Faerie Queene (Dent, 1897). He also created magazine illustrations and, in the 1890s, bookbinding designs. Fairfax Muckley's illustrative work at its best is typical of the Birmingham School, and his paintings tend to the symbolic and show a proclivity for rich drapery.
