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William Hogarth

1697-1764 England/Baroque

 

Brief Biography-William Hogarth was born into an impoverished family in Smithfield, London, in 1697. His father was held in the debtor’s prison when William was only nine years old. Three years later, his father was released, and through an uncle, A silver plate engraver named Ellis Gamble apprenticed him. Six years into his apprenticeship, due to necessity, he set up his own engraving business in his mother’s house as his parents had died. After three years, he entered an academy in Saint Martin’s Lane and went on to the Academy of James Thornhill, the history painter.
Hogarth eventually became successful at his work and opened his Academy in Saint Martin’s Lane for young artists. He did engravings for literary works and began to paint in oil. He married the daughter of James Thornhill in 1729 and began to achieve a reasonable living as a portraitist, painting the city’s nobility.
In 1731, he painted the series A Harlot’s Progress and shortly after hit upon producing it as engravings. Harlot’s Progress was a tremendous success, and he set up a print-seller business that he advertised outside his shop with the gilded head of Sir Anthony van Dyck. He also painted religious commissions for churches but felt more suited to his work as a printmaker and artistic satirist. He succeeded James Thornhill as serjeant-painter to the King in 1757.
Before he produced The Rake’s Progress, he successfully had parliament pass a bill for the Engraver’s Copyright Act in 1735, as other printmakers had pirated his works. However, this was to be his last major profitable publication. His later works, of which he had some published by other engravers, were not so successful, and his paintings also failed to achieve success at auctions. Nevertheless, his book The Analysis of Beauty became a best seller and is highly regarded today. His last work was The Bathos in October of the same year he died in 1764.

 

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The Marriage
Contract

Marriage Contract

Shortly after
the Marriage

Shortly after the Marriage

The
Tavern

Rake's Progress The Tavern

Debtors
Prison

Rake's Progress Debtor's Prison

Soliciting
Votes

Soliciting Votes

Election
Entertainment

Election Enterainment

Election
Chairing

Chairing the Member

Wanstead
House

Assembly at Wanstead House

Beer
Street

Beer Street

Gin
Lane

Gin Lane

Midnight
Conversation

A Modern Midnight Conversation

Interior of
Bedlam

The Interior of Bedlam

Princess
of Wales

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha Princess of Wales

Capt T
Coram

Captain Thomas Coram

David
Garrick

David Garrick with His Wife

Family
Portrait

Family Portrait

Four Times
of the Day

Four Times of the Day

Humours of
an Election

Humours of an Election-The Polling

Madam
Salter

Madam Salter

Miss Mary
Edwards

Miss Mary Edwards

Satan Sin
and Death

Satan Sin and Death

Self
Portrait

Self Portrait

Self-
portrait

Self-portrait

The House of
Commons

The Gaols Committee of the House of Commons

the
Servants

Servants

Simon
Fraser

Simon Fraser

The
Corset

The Corset

The
Denunciation

The Denunciation

The March to
Finchley

The March to Finchley

The Marriage
of Stephen-

The Marriage of Stephen Beckingham and Mary Cox

The
Shrimp Girl

The Shrimp Girl

The
Sleeping Town

The Sleeping Town

Lord Grey-Lady
Mary West

Lord Grey and Lady Mary West

The
Tempest

The Tempest

The Graham
Children

The Graham Children

The
Strode Family

The Strode Family

The Times of the
Day-Morning

The Times of the Day

The Times of the
Day-Noon

The Times of the Day-Noon

The Times of the
Day-Evening

The Times of the Day-Evening

The Times of the
Day-Night

The Times of the Day-Night

Benjamin
Hoadly

Benjamin Hoadly Bishop of Winchester

Beggar's
Opera

A Scene from the Beggar's Opera

the
Theater

Theater

Woodes
Rogers

Woodes Rogers and his Family

the mackinen
children

the mackinen children

the western
family

the western family


the bathos

the bathos