Edward William Payton ( 1859 - 1944)

Payton was an artist and photographer worked in New Zealand. Payton was born in Warwickshire and studied art at the Municipal School of Art Birmingham under E. R. Taylor and at the Royal College of Art, in Antwerp and Paris. In 1882 he left for Australia, and in early 1883 from Melbourne he travelled to New Zealand. He settled in Auckland and visited the Hot Lakes district. He painted the Pink and White Terraces before and after the Mount Tarawera eruption. In 1887 he exhibited in the Auckland Art Gallery, and in 1888.

He became the first director of the Elam School of Art in 1890, a post which he held for 35 years, retiring in 1924.