Between the years of 1848 and 1880, Hemsley exhibited 120 works in major London exhibitions, at the Royal Academy, the British Institute and the Society of British Artists' Suffolk Street gallery. A number of his paintings were featured at the 1862 International Exhibition and the Exposition universelle de 1867, world's fairs held in London and Paris respectively, as well as at other British galleries including Manchester Art Gallery and Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery. Reproductions of his paintings appeared in the "Illustrated London News", Illustrated News of the World and "The Art Journal".