Eliot Hodgkin was a painter, notably in tempera, of small, highly detailed pictures of flowers and fruit. He was also a mural painter and writer. He was born in Purley, near Reading and after attending Harrow School, he studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art and at the Royal Academy Schools under Ernest Jackson.

He has had one man shows at the Picture Hire Galleries, RA, Wildenstein, Leicester Galleries, NEAC, RBA and in New York.The Tate Gallery holds his work. Hodgkin was a notable collector and a selection from his collection was shown in a memorial exhibition at Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox in London. His paintings are now very sought after by collectors.