Son of the well known painter George Turner (1843-1910), William Lakin Turner first studied under his father along with Louis Bosworth Hurt (1856-1929).

Turner later became known for his delicate British landscapes particularly of the Lake District and Scottish scenes with wild mountain landscapes a favoured subject. All works Lakin Turner exhibited at the Royal Academy (14) were mountain landscapes suggestive perhaps he thought his best work. Today William Lakin Turner paintings can be seen in the Museums and Art Galleries of Derby, of Nuneaton and of Nottingham.

He famously sold a painting to Beatrix Potter and it still hangs in the house at Coniston to this day.