Walter Dendy Sadler was born in Dorking, Surrey. At the age of sixteen he enrolled in Heatherly’s School of Art in London. He exhibited at The Dudley Gallery from 1872 and at The Royal Academy, 35 works between 1872 and 1893.
He specialized in genre scenes, mainly interior scenes from Victorian daily life. He was fond of depicting the mores of nineteenth-century life, these episodes placed in Inns, home interiors, legal offices, etc. Many of his works were engraved.
His paintings can be seen in The Tate Gallery, London and the Art Galleries of Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff.