Thomas Murray received his first lessons in art from one of the De Critz family.

Subsequently, he became a pupil of John Riley; like his master, Murray was just a face-painter, leaving the rest of the picture to be completed by others.

He died in June 1734, leaving no children, and bequeathed his money to a nephew, with instructions that his monument, with a bust, should be erected in Westminster Abbey, provided that it did not cost too much.

His nephew, however, taking him at his word, buried him in St. Paul's, Covent Garden, and found the monument too expensive to erect.

[1] Murray contributed a self-portrait to the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, on a visit to Italy in 1708.