Henry Robertson was born in 1848 and educated at the Mansion Grammar School in Leatherhead where he won a school drawing prize at the tender age of 11. In 1877 he married Hamilton Campbell Barclay, the daughter of the Rev. William and Hamilton Barclay who were members of a prominent Gosport family. In 1886 Robertson became an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers & Engravers. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1888, 1892 & 1894.