E. T. Hurley grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Xavier University. He worked for a tea company and as a salesman before attending the Art Academy from 1894 to 1898. He received encouragement from Frank Duveneck and Otto W. Beck. Hurley gained international fame for his paintings and etchings. His etchings were exhibited in Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh; Art Institute of Chicago; National Academy of Design; Herron Institute in Indianapolis; National Arts Club in New York and the Cincinnati Art Museum.  Hurley is represented in the permenant collections of: The New York Public Library; British Institute in London; the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; Congressional Library; Brooklyn Museum; Detroit Museum of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and many others.

Mr. Hurley won medals and honors including: the Gold Medal of the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and the Logan Medal for etching. He was a member of the McDowell Society; Ohio Pottery Society; Duveneck Society of Painters; Chicago Society of Etchers; Cincinnati Art Club; Society of American Etchers and the Ohio Print Makers. He was a decorator for Rookwood Pottery from 1896 to 1948.