Alan White's first name was Frank, but he always signed his work and was known by his second name Alan. He was born in Loughborough, son of a perfume works manager Frank Robert White and Ethel Mary White.

A copy of a 1911 census lists him as a 17-year old art student. He later lived in the Rutland village of Whissendine in the 1960s, during which time he was a regular visitor to the Gernick Field Studio in Newlyn. It was here that he and his friends Charles BREAKER and Eric HILLER established a holiday sketching group.

White was always based in the East Midlands and died in Oakham in 1974.

A correspondent (2018) whose uncle was a friend of the artist and who owns a number of White's paintings has offered the above information. He praises the artist's style, which he describes as distinctive, showing great intricacy, detail and accuracy. The subjects indicate a familiarity not only with the East Midlands, but also with the Bodmin or Dartmoor areas. White also produced a number of miniatures. The correspondent suggests that Alan White's work deserves greater recognition.