William Ashford (1746 – 17 April 1824) was an English painter who worked exclusively in Ireland,[1][2] where he lived from the age of 18, having initially gone there to take up a post with the Ordnance Office.

[2] He moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1764 at the age of eighteen after having obtained an appointment in the Ordnance Office through the influence of the Surveyor-General, Ralph Ward.

From 1792 until his death, Ashford lived in a house in Sandymount, County Dublin, designed for him by the architect, James Gandon.

[6] Ashford was among the most respected landscape painters of Ireland in his time, on par with Thomas Roberts and George Barret.

Despite becoming a fellow of the Society the next year, Ashford only exhibited there sporadically, works shown there including a set of views of North Wales.

[7] The Fitzwilliam commission was the last major one he received, although he continued to paint, and held an exhibition of his works in the board room of the Dublin Society's premises in 1819.

[2] Ashford's work is viewed as heavily influenced by painters such as Claude Lorraine and Richard Wilson, especially in his use of a warm continental palette.

[10] William Ashford is believed to have commissioned his friend James Gandon architect to build him a residence at Lord Merrions's brickfields close to the sea near Dublin called Laburnum lodge.