Born in Jersey, Lander studied at F.W. Calderon's School of Animal Painting, the R.A. schools and Julian's. He had settled in London by 1898, living from 1914 until his death at 14 Harley Gardens, The Boltons. A regular exhibitor at the R.A. and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (member 1916), he built up a fashionable portrait practice, flattering his sitters by stressing their air of aristocratic good breeding. His portrait of Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), dated 1923, is in the Manchester City Art Gallery.