Allan Gwynne-Jones was born in Surrey and attended Bedales School. He went on to study law - although he never went into practice - as during his training he developed an interest in art and painted watercolours of the Blyth Valley in Suffolk. He later purchased a house in the village of Wenhaston, nr Southwold, Suffolk.
He began his fine art studies at the Slade School of Art but they were interrupted by his service during WWI. On his demobilisation 1919 he taught at the Royal College of Art and he became Professor of Painting there from 1923-1930 and then returned to the Slade to teach until 1958. He became a Royal Academician in 1956.
He was inspired by the work of the Victorian artist Richard Dadd and elements of Dadd's figures from his Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke can be seen in the poses of the colourful characters who populate these engravings which use traditional techniques to explore contemporary life of the period in an elaborate realism.
He exhibited at the New English Art Club, the Redfern Gallery, Goupil Gallery, and at the Royal Academy.