The Eiger as seen from the Wengern Alp; The Schreckhorn as seen from the Wengern Alp

Walton studied at Birmingham School of Art and at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1860 he went to Switzerland and Egpyt on honeymoon, and, his wife dying on the Nile, he remained in the Near East until 1862. For the next five years he spent much of his time in Egypt and the Alps. He exhibited at the Royal Academy 1851-65, at the British Institution, Royal Society of British Artists and elsewhere. He is best known for his atmospheric, romantic and colourful watercolours of the Alps and he illustrated several books on the subject. Works by him are in the collections of the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Birmingham City Art Gallery. The Schreckhorn (4,078 m) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps and is the highest peak in the canton of Berne. The region is made up of uninhabited glacial valleys including the Aar Glaciers and Fiescher Glacier. The first ascent was in August 1861 by Leslie Stephen, father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.