Following initial studies at Reading, Benjamin Leader attended the Royal Academy of London schools before commencing his artistic career.  He became one of the foremost landscape painters of the time, winning a medal of honor at the 1889 Paris Salon and being made a Knight of the Legion of Honor.  He was made an associate of the Royal Academy in 1883 and a full member in 1898.

Leader's artistic inspiration was directly from nature and in particular his native countryside of Worcester. After visiting Scotland and Wales, he painted mainly landscapes, often of mountain and river scenes.  He usually chose scenes from the Midlands and the Thames valley, although he was also partial to Welsh landscapes, especially around Bettws-y-Coed.

In 1857, he changed his name from Benjamin Leader Williams (he was related to the Williams family of painters) to Benjamin Williams Leader. This also helped avoid confusion with the eleven other artists of the same surname who exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Leader was extremely popular in Victorian times and his work sold for high prices.  Leader's paintings were popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, particularly through reproductions which flooded the market. Today he is recognized as one of the most accomplished Victorian landscape artists of his day. His works are highly sought after by collectors of British landscapes.