G.W. Harvey was born in 1855 in East Gloucester, Massachusetts. He was best known as a painter and etcher who spent his career capturing scenes in and around Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Harvey is best known for his landscapes depicting Cape Ann marshland in the winter. He also painted numerous sailboats and maritime scenes

Harvey studied briefly with Philadelphia artist W. H. Weisman, but was an otherwise self-taught artist. He is well-regarded for his oil paintings, but he often worked in the medium of watercolor. Harvey was interested in notions of light and atmosphere in his paintings, and while traveling through Europe he became influenced by The Hague School of painters. These artists focused on interpretations of the landscape and oceans off the coast of Holland. Harvey was offered honorary memberships in the Royal Dutch Society of Artists and the Pulchri Club of The Hague, before returning to the United States.

Harvey was a member of the Boston Arts Club; Gloucester Society of Artists; and the National Society of American Artists. In the late 1880s he exhibited at the J. Eastman Chase Galleries, as well as the Boston Arts Club, and the Chicago Art Institute.