Painter, printmaker and teacher, born at Great Horton, Bradford, Yorkshire. He studied at Skipton Art School and Royal College of Art, graduating in 1907. Among his appointments was headmaster of Hull Municipal Art School, 1912–19. Natural history and the countryside were key subjects. Exley was elected RE in 1923, also showing at RA, Redfern Gallery and Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum and Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge hold examples. Lived in London, then at Grassington, Yorkshire.