Withers was born in Wellington, New Zealand. After studying at Wellington College, he enrolled at the Royal Academy in London and later at the South Kensington School of Art and the Slade School of Art. Eager for more training, Withers moved to Paris at the prestigious Académie Julian. When Withers began painting pin-ups for Brown and Bigelow in 1950, he had already spent twenty-five years working in the Hollywood film industry. He died 1964.