William Carpenter was trained at the Royal Academy Schools. He was in India from 1850 t0 1856, during which time he travelled extensively from Bombay (Mumbai) and across western India to Rajasthan, Delhi, Kashmir, Lahore and Afghanistan. His depiction of every day street scenes and groups of people is remarkably accurate and animated, his portraits vividly capturing the character of his sitters and the glowing effects of sunlight as cityscapes and architectural monuments. Brilliantly executed in a range of warm colours, his watercolours evoke a gentle romanticism.

After his return to England, The Illustrated London News published some of his watercolours. In 1881, he exhibited 275 of his paintings in a one-man show in the South Kensington Museum, London. This entire collection was subsequently acquired by the V&A.

Shah Hamadan's Mosque, on the right bank of the River Jhelum, was built in 1395 but twice destroyed by fire in 1479 and 1731 and then rebuilt. Carpenter made three visits to Kashmir and produced over 70 paintings. Besides general views of the valley and lakes, he included the quaint wooden houses and streets of Srinagar, bridges across the Jhelum River and Mar canal, Kashmiri women and the Temple of the Sun at Martund, to which Carpenter made a special excursion.