William Pierce Stubbs was born in Orrington, Maine, in 1842. He was the son of a shipmaster, and he was master of his father's ship from 1863-73. By 1871, he painted what is likely his first ship portrait, and by 1876 he was listed as a marine painter in the Boston city directory. While there, Stubbs shared a studio with Wesley Webber. Later, he had studios in Boston and Charlestown, where it is likely that Badger was his student.

Stubbs participated in the International Marine Exhibition of 1889, in Boston. His paintings are held in the collections at the Mariner's Museum, the Mystic Seaport Museum, the Beverly Historical Society, the Philadelphia Marine Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Source:
Askart Archives - Newman Galleries from Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art"