Very little is known about Warner Varnham. He is listed in the "List of Foreigners" in the Chinese Repository, but unfortunately no occupation is given alongside his name. It has been suggested that he worked as a tea taster in one of the newly established mercantile houses at Canton. Between the years 1837-1843, he sketched in Macao, Canton, Chusan Island and the Phillipines. An exhibition of the artist's work during this period was held at the Museum of the American China Trade, Milton, Massachusetts in 1973. His subjects, like that of his contemporary George Chinnery, are mostly everyday genre scenes. The question of his relationship with the more celebrated artist remains a mystery. He would have known him and does appear to have been influenced by him. Several of Varnham's drawings were adapted by Thomas Allom as illustrations for the Rev. G.N. Wright's China: Its Scenery, Architecture, Social Habits etc., 1843.
In 1843 Varnham went to England and settled at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.