William Richard Stone was born in Sidmouth, Devon in 1839, the son of Thomas Taylor Stone and Ellen Stone. His father was a master carver and gilder and he initially followed in his footsteps working as a carver gilder. By the 1860's he was living in London and married Georgiana Matilda Meadows, the daughter of a carver gilder, on 7 May 1869. Together, they had 3 children and lived in Charing Cross for a time.

During the 1870’s, Stone established himself as a successful landscape artist. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and Suffolk Street and became a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. He painted rustic scenes usually with the inclusion of figures and worked around Kent and Surrey as well as Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Wales. By 1881, Stone and his family had moved to Lancaster Road, Kensington. He died in Richmond, Surrey on 12 March 1889.

Examples of his work can be found in museums such as the Dudley Museum, Birmingham Museum, Radnorshire Museum, Wales and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery.