William Lee Hankey studied in London, then travelled the world. He set up in Chester, where he was working in 1893. He began to exhibit in London, at Suffolk Street, in 1893. He also spent time in France and exhibited in Paris at the Salon des Artistes Français where he was awarded an honourable mention in 1906. He was a member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of Painters-Etchers and Engravers.

Hankey painted landscapes, and specialised in depicting scenes from everyday life, including: Don't Talk of Poverty Here; The Garlanded Well.

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Christchurch (AG): We’ve Been In The Meadows All Day (watercolour)
Eastbourne (Towner AG): Bosham Marshes (1898, watercolour)
Greenock (McLean Mus. and AG): Torquay (oil on canvas)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Laing AG): Butter Market, Concarneau (oil on canvas)