Initially apprenticed to a Dublin architect, Bingham McGuinness studied art in Dusseldorf, where he specialized in watercolour. He was a prolific exhibitor at the RHA from 1866-1928, being elected a member in 1884. He was also President of the Dublin Sketching Club. He was a regular contributor to the Watercolour Society of Ireland from 1892 up to his death in 1928.