Henry Brittan Willis, R.W.S. , was the son of a Bristol artist and drawing master.  After a brief period in the United States in his early thirties, he returned to the U.K. where he became known for his oils and watercolours of cattle. He regularly exhibited and was a member of the Langham Sketching Club. He was elected to the 'Old" Society of Painters in Watercolours (O.W.S.) in 1863.

His work can be found in several public collections in the U.K., including the Shipley Art Gallery