Claude Hayes was a landscape and portrait painter, who was born in Dublin the son of Edwin Hayes. He ran away to sea, serving on The Golden Fleece, one of the transports used in the Abyssinian Expedition of 1867 to 1868.

Known for his atmospheric and tranquil scenes, often featuring rivers, lakes, and countryside vistas. He was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was associated with the Newlyn School of artists. Hayes' works are characterized by their soft, muted colors and skillful rendering of light and shadow.

Hayes spent a year in America, then came back and studied art at Heatherleys School and for three years at the Royal Academy Schools, he also studied in Antwerp under Verlat.

Hayes exhibited from 1876 at the Royal Academy also exhibiting at Suffolk Street, New Watercolour Society, Grosvenor Gallery and the New Gallery as well as at various other venues throughout the provinces.

He first practiced as a portrait painter in oil, but soon abandoned portraiture for landscapes, first in oil and then in watercolour as his fovourite medium.

In 1884 he first exhibited at the Royal Institute for Painters in Watercolour, of which he was elected a member in 1886.