Thomas Hudson was a British portrait painter in the eighteenth century. He was born in 1701 somewhere in the West Country, UK. Hudson studied under Jonathan Ricardson in London and married his daughter at some point before 1725 against Richardson's wishes. Hudson was most prolific between 1740 and 1760 and from 1745 until 1755 was the most successful London portraitist. He lived at Deep Cross, Twickenham. Hudson employed many assistants to help with his paintings and retired towards the end of the 1750s. Joshua Reynolds had been a student of Hudson's. Hudson died in 1779 in Twickenham. His extensive private art collection was sold off in three separate sales. The West Country is a name for the West of England. ... Twickenham is a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in the south-west of London It is best known as the home of Twickenham Stadium - the headquarters of the Rugby Football Union. ... Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (July 16, 1723–February 23, 1792) was the most important and influential of eighteenth-century English painters, specialising in portraits and promoting the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. ...

Many of Hudson's works can be seen in UK art galleries. These include the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery and Bristol City Art Museum.