Born Henry William Lowe Hurst in London on 26 August 1865, he was the son of Henry Hurst, a well-known African traveller and publisher (
Hurst and Blackett).[2][3] He was educated at
St. Paul's School in London and soon after started recording the political instability of Ireland through drawings and illustrations.[4][5] He travelled to the United States of America where he found work illustrating newspapers in New York City and
Philadelphia.[5] Hal returned to Europe studying art at the
Royal Academy Schools and the
Académie Julian in Paris.[5] He exhibited extensively at all the principal London galleries and was elected member of the
Royal Society of British Artists in 1896,
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in 1898, and the
Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1900.[1][5] He was a founder member of the Royal Miniature Society from its inception in 1896 and elected Vice-President, a position he held until stepping down in 1913 – he was given the distinction of Honorary member status the following year.[1]
He married and had one son and two daughters with whom he lived at 9 Colville Mansions,
Bayswater.[4] He was the friend and neighbour of
Douglas Sladen, the well-known author and travel writer, who also owned many of Hurst's paintings.[6] Sladen described Hurst as being "a very clever artist" and having a "beautiful young wife."[6]
Through the Sikh War: A Tale Of The Conquest Of The Punjaur (c.1890) (written by
G. A. Henty)
Hunting for Gold, or Adventures in Klondyke (1897) (written by
Hume Nisbet)
Vernon's Aunt: Being the Oriental Experiences of Miss Lavinia Moffat (1894) (written by
Sara Jeannette Duncan (Mrs. Everard Cotes))
The Stir Outside The Cafe Royal; A Story Of Miss Van Snoop Detective: The Harmsworth Magazine Volume I 1898-9 (1899) (written by Clarence Rook)[9]
The Billsbury Election and Other Papers from Punch; With twenty-eight illustrations by Hal Hurst (1892) (written by
Rudolf Chambers Lehmann)
The Arcadians: Souvenir Presented By Robert Courtneidge on the Occasion of the Second Anniversary Friday 28 April 1911 (1911) (written by
Robert Courtneidge)
The Pictorial Record (1887) (written by Walter Tomlinson, with special articles by Thomas W. Harris, Charles Estcourt, and Joseph Nodal. Edited by
John Howard Nodal)
A Woman of the Commune (1896) (written by G. A. Henty)
A Servant of the Public (c.1900) (written by
Anthony Hope)