George Wright was born in Headingly near Leeds in 1860 into a family with a rich artistic tradition.

His younger brother Gilbert Scott Wright was a well respected sporting artist with whom he developed a professional (though friendly) rivalry throughout their working lives. His sister Louise was a pioneer of fashion art, illustrating Harrod's Fur Catalogues and Vogue Magazine. Like his younger brother George concerned himself with sporting scenes, in particular, hunting and  coaching subjects. His study of horses show mastery and close observation. He portrays the animals very realistically. In contrast his rendering of the surrounding landscape - fields and hedgerows - are more impressionistic and convey the high speed of the horses and the exhilarating pace of the hunt.

George Wright exhibited his works at the Royal Academy and other major London Galleries from 1892. His pictures are often painted in pairs, complementing and balancing each other and showing different scenes of the same event.