He was born in Christchurch, Dorset and educated at Christ Church School and afterward became a member of the Art Workers Guild.

While living in Christchurch, he had briefly housed Richard Le Gallienne during the summer of 1888.

[1] He moved to New York City in 1890 where he conducted the Art Amateur (1891–92).

He was the first serving editor of The Studio, founded by Charles Holme in 1893 (Lewis Hind had acted as editor for four months before the launch of the magazine).

In 1895 Holme took over as editor himself, although Gleeson White continued to contribute for the rest of his life.