You’ve seen him in your middle school history textbook. Or maybe on a random plaque in a New York City park. A stern-looking guy with a pointy beard, wearing one of those stiff, ruffled Elizabethan collars that looks like a giant coffee filter. He looks exactly like what we imagine an "explorer" should look like.
But here’s the thing. It isn't him.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild when you think about it. Henry Hudson—the man with a river, a bay, and a giant bridge named after him—is a ghost. We have zero idea what he actually looked like. Those pictures of Henry Hudson that pop up on Google? They’re essentially historical fan art.
The Portrait That Isn't Hudson
If you search for his face, you'll likely find a specific oil painting of a dapper man in a ruff. For a long time, people just accepted this as the guy. But historians like Thomas A. Janvier and Jaap Jacobs have been pointing out for years that there is no contemporary portrait of Hudson. None. Not one sketch made while he was alive has survived.
The most famous "portrait" often cited is actually an unidentified man.
In the 19th century, people became obsessed with "branding" historical figures. They needed a face to put on the stamps and in the books. So, they basically picked a guy who looked the part. It’s like casting an actor for a biopic, except they forgot to tell everyone it was a dramatization.
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The 1881 Painting Everyone Thinks Is Real
There is one image that really sticks in people's minds. It’s a moody, dramatic painting called The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson. It shows an old man with a grey beard sitting in a small boat, staring into the distance while his son huddles at his feet.
It's heartbreaking. It's iconic.
It was also painted by John Collier in 1881. That’s more than 270 years after Hudson was abandoned by his mutinous crew in the icy waters of James Bay.
Collier was a great artist, but he wasn't a time traveler. He was painting a scene based on the tragic ending of Hudson’s fourth voyage. When you look at that painting, you’re seeing Victorian-era grief and artistic license, not a primary source.
Why do we keep using these fake images?
Because humans hate a vacuum. We want to put a face to the name. It’s much harder to teach kids about the Northwest Passage if you’re just showing them a map of cold water and a blank silhouette.
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What We Actually Know (The Physical Clues)
Since we can't trust the pictures of Henry Hudson, we have to look at the written records. Even those are pretty thin. We know he was a "seafaring man" and likely in his mid-to-late thirties when he first pops up in the historical record in 1607.
- He was likely rugged. You don't survive three weeks in the Arctic or navigate a ship like the Half Moon across the Atlantic by being soft.
- The clothes were real. While the face might be fake, the fashion in the drawings is usually period-accurate. If he was meeting with the Muscovy Company or the Dutch East India Company, he would have worn the standard merchant-class attire of the early 17th century.
- The "Hendrick" Confusion. Some pictures label him as "Hendrick Hudson." This was just the Dutch version of his name used during his 1609 voyage. He was very much an Englishman, even if he was cashing Dutch checks at the time.
Where to Find "Authentic" Visuals
If you want to see something real from Hudson's life, stop looking for faces and start looking at ships and maps.
The Half Moon (or Halve Maen) is well-documented. We know the specs of these vessels. Seeing a replica of his ship gives you a much better "picture" of his life than a fake portrait ever could. It was tiny. Imagine crossing the ocean in a boat the size of a few city buses. That tells you more about his character—his obsession, his grit, maybe even his stubbornness—than the shape of his nose.
We also have the maps. The charts Hudson and his mates drew are the closest things we have to his actual vision. You’re seeing the world exactly how he saw it: jagged coastlines, "great and tall Oakes," and the frustrating realization that the river he hoped was a shortcut to China was actually just getting fresher and narrower near Albany.
Why the Mystery Matters
In a way, the lack of real pictures of Henry Hudson makes his story more haunting. He disappeared in 1611 after his crew kicked him, his teenage son, and a few loyal sailors into a small open boat and sailed away.
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No one knows where they died. No one knows where they’re buried.
Having a fake, polished portrait almost feels wrong. It cleans up a story that is messy, cold, and unresolved. The "blank space" where his face should be serves as a reminder of how quickly history can swallow a person whole, even if their name ends up on every map in the world.
Next Steps for Your Research
To get a better sense of Hudson without the fake portraits, look for the 1625 book "Purchas His Pilgrimes" by Samuel Purchas. It contains some of the original logs and letters from Hudson’s voyages. It won't give you a picture of his face, but it will give you a picture of his mind. You can also visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum online or in person to see ship models that are factually accurate to the period.