Richard William Hubbard was one of a few painters of his generation with a college degree. A native of Connecticut, he was a member of the Yale University class of 1837 before going to New York, where he studied painting with Samuel F. B. Morse and possibly Daniel Huntington.

Hubbard became an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1852 and a full member in 1859. He exhibited frequently both at the National Academy of Designand and at the Brooklyn Art Association.

In an 1854 scene recorded by Sanford Gifford in his sketchbook, Hubbard was in Conway Center, NH, sketching with Benjamin Champney, Miss Bangs, and Alfred Ordway. The Crayon for December 1856 noted that “Mr. Hubbard has … made a study of the ‘Stepping-Stones,’ a favorite Conway subject which Daniel Huntington also recorded.”

Hubbard kept a studio in the 10th Street Studio Building in New York City for thirty years. He was elected to the Century Association in 1865 and served as president of the Brooklyn Art Association for several years.