Hurlstone was born in 1800 in London, England, the eldest son by his second marriage of Thomas Y. Hurlstone, one of the proprietors of the "Morning Chronicle". His grand-uncle, Richard Hurlstone, had been a well-known portrait-painter a generation earlier.
Hurlstone, while still very young, became a pupil of Sir William Beechey, afterwards studying under Sir Thomas Lawrence, and also, it is said, under Benjamin Haydon. In 1820 he was admitted as a student of the Royal Academy.
In 1822 Hurlstone gained the silver medal for the best copy made in the school of painting, and in 1823 the gold medal for historical painting, the subject being "The Contention between the Archangel Michael and Satan for the Body of Moses". He first exhibited in 1821, sending to the Royal Academy "Le Malade Imaginaire" and to the British Institution a "View near Windsor". These were followed at the Academy in 1822 by "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and a portrait, in 1823 by five portraits, and in 1824 by his "Archangel Michael" and some more portraits. One of his best early works was "A Venetian Page with a Parrot", exhibited at the British Institution in 1824. In 1824 also he contributed "The Bandit Chief" to the first exhibition of the Society of British Artists. He continued to send portraits to the Royal Academy until 1830, but in 1831 he was elected a member of the Society of British Artists, after which he seldom exhibited elsewhere. He was chosen president in 1835, and again in 1840, retaining the office until his death. He contributed to the society's exhibitions upwards of three hundred portraits and other works, among them being "The Enchantress Armida", exhibited in 1831; "Haidee aroused from her Trance by the sound of Music", 1834; "Eros", 1836; "Italian Boys playing at the National Game of Mora" and the "Prisoner of Chillon", 1837. In 1844 and, for the last time, in 1845 he again sent portraits to the Academy. His subsequent works at the Society of British Artists included "The Sons of Jacob bringing the blood-stained garment of Joseph to their Father", 1844; "Salute, Signore", 1845; "A Girl of Sorrento at a Well", 1847. His later works, consisted mainly of Spanish and Italian rustic subjects, the outcome of several visits to Italy, Spain, and Morocco, made between 1835 and 1854. Eleven of his best works were re-exhibited at the Society of British Artists in 1870. Hurlstone was also a successful portrait painter, one of his best heads being that of Richard, seventh earl of Cavan, exhibited at the Society of British Artists in 1833, and again, together with that of General Sir John MacLeod, at the National Portrait Exhibition of 1868. Hurlstone never became a member of the Royal Academy. He was elected president of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1835 and held the office until his death sending 326 works to their exhibitions. Hurlstone died at 9 Chester Street, Belgrave Square, London, on 10 June 1869, in his sixty-ninth year.
Hurlstone was always much opposed to the constitution and management of the Royal Academy, and gave evidence before at the Parliamentary enquiry into the constitution of the Royal Academy in 1835 and again in 1836 to the select committee of the House of Commons.
Member of the Society of British Artists (1831), President of the Royal Society of British Artists (1835)
n 1836 Hurlstone married fellow artist Jane Coral who exhibited some watercolour drawings and portraits at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists between 1846 and 1850. She died on 2 October 1858, leaving issue two sons, one of whom was also an artist. Hurlstone's grandson, William Martin Yeates Hurlstone, became a moderately well-known composer.
