Thomas Eyre Macklin [also known as T. Eyre Macklin and as E. T. Macklin] was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on 30 March 1863. After studying at Newcastle School of Art, in 1884 he moved to London where he attended the Calderon School of Animal Painting and, from 1887, the Royal Academy Schools, where, in 1888, he won a silver medal for "the best copy of an oil painting". While in London, he began producing artwork for the Pall Mall Gazette and other magazines. He later also illustrated sveral books. In 1893 he returned to the North East to pursue a career as a painter, sculptor and illustrator. He subsequently had studios in Newcastle upon Tyne and London and exhibited at the Bewick Club in Newcastle upon Tyne; the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool; the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh; the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Artists in London; and in Paris.