Born and educated in South Africa 1905 - 1907, Edward Wolfe came to England in his late teens. He attended Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art as well as Drama School and was admitted to the Slade School of Fine Art in 1917. During the same year he joined Roger Fry's Omega Workshops, painting abstract designs on textile and ceramics. From 1918 he was exhibiting with the London Group, showing alongside some of the best artists of his day, including Duncan Grant, McKnight Kauffer and Vanessa Bell.

Wolfe was one of the first British artists to become attracted to and influenced by the artists Modigliani and Matisse and in fact was known as "England's Matisse" owing to his vibrant use of colour and fluent painterly style.

An extensive traveller, he spent time in Ireland, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain, America and Mexico painting landscapes, flowers and figure subjects. His best works show the presence of an appraising gaze beneath which the character of each place is revealed through a rich surface texture and a vivid strength of execution.

Although he never tied himself down to one particular group Wolfe showed work frequently with the Omega Gallery and the Seven and Five Society as well as the Lefevre Gallery and the Mayor Gallery. In 1967, the Arts Council held a touring retrospective exhibition and in that year he was elected A.R.A., R.A. in 1972.
He is also represented in the Tate Gallery.