Titles

The title 'Portrait of Dr Henry Hudson' comes from family tradition, as passed down to later owners.

Sitter

Henry ("Harry") Hudson appears to have been about the same age as Whistler, so a birth date of 1830/1835 is possible.

The sitter was described by the Hartford Daily Courant, 26 July 1879, as 'an American medical student who, like Whistler, occupied apartments in the once famous "Latin quarter" ', and as having been 'painted by Whistler while a student at Paris'.

It is likely that he was related to Annie Jane Hudson (1834-1907), wife of Frederick William Russell (1831–1895) of Chatham, Middlesex County, Connecticut. See HISTORY / PROVENANCE tag.