He was born in Wooer's Alley, Dunfermline, Fife, on 13 December 1821 to Joseph Neil Paton and Catherine MacDiarmid, damask designers and weavers in the town.
He was the brother of the sculptor Amelia Robertson Hill, and the landscape artist Waller Hugh Paton.
He also had one brother, Archibald, and two sisters, Catherine and Alexia, who died in childhood.
 Later in his life, Paton erected a monument on the grave site of his parents and siblings.
 Their graves were probably originally unmarked; the monument lies on the north side of Dunfermline Abbey and — amongst nearby smaller, sandstone markers — is a distinctive red granite Celtic cross.

Paton attended Dunfermline School and then Dunfermline Art Academy, further enhancing the talents he had developed as a child.
He followed the family trade by working as the design department director in a muslin factory for three years.
Most of his life was spent in Scotland but he studied briefly at the Royal Academy, London in 1843, where he was tutored by George Jones.
While studying in London Paton met John Everett Millais, who asked him to join the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
He was born in Wooer's Alley, Dunfermline, Fife, on 13 December 1821 to Joseph Neil Paton and Catherine MacDiarmid, damask designers and weavers in the town. He was the brother of the sculptor Amelia Robertson Hill, and the landscape artist Waller Hugh Paton. He also had one brother, Archibald, and two sisters, Catherine and Alexia, who died in childhood.  Later in his life, Paton erected a monument on the grave site of his parents and siblings.  Their graves were probably originally unmarked; the monument lies on the north side of Dunfermline Abbey and — amongst nearby smaller, sandstone markers — is a distinctive red granite Celtic cross.
Paton attended Dunfermline School and then Dunfermline Art Academy, further enhancing the talents he had developed as a child. He followed the family trade by working as the design department director in a muslin factory for three years. Most of his life was spent in Scotland but he studied briefly at the Royal Academy, London in 1843, where he was tutored by George Jones. While studying in London Paton met John Everett Millais, who asked him to join the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Joseph Noel Paton