Special Collections Department

William Hogarth Engravings

1732 -1808

Graphics Arts Collection Number: 101
Accessioned: Gift of Anna D. Moyerman, 1972.
Extent: One box, 13 items.
Content: Engravings.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1996 by Iris Snyder.

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Biographical Note
Scope and Contents Note
Contents List

Biographical Note

William Hogarth (1697-1764), the English painter, engraver, and satirist, was born in London. At sixteen, he was apprenticed to a silversmith, learning to engrave designs on gold and silver work. He set up his own business as an engraver in 1720. He developed a distinctive style as both a painter and an engraver, combining humor and history in a series of illustrations based on the works of Samuel Butler and on Shakespeare.

During the 1730s and 1740s his most popular paintings, and prints based on them, were satiric views of London life such as "A Rake's Progress" and "Marriage à la Mode." In the later 1740s, Hogarth's reputation began to wane, and he turned to producing prints from drawings rather than paintings. The subject matter of his prints became more popular (for example "Gin Lane" and "Beer Street") and the style more simple. His productivity dropped off in the 1750s due to political quarrels and ill health, and his reputation fell off before his death in 1764.

Source:

Sir Lawrence Gowing, A Biographical Dictionary of Artists. New York: Facts on File, 1995.

Scope and Content Note

This collection is composed of thirteen engravings of drawings and paintings by William Hogarth (1732-1808), the English artist and satirist. Eleven of the prints were engraved by Hogarth, the other two were done by other engravers after his designs. The designs in this group are of popular, humorous subjects; focusing on the daily lives of the rich and poor in eighteenth century England.

Each of the prints is crudely hand-colored using a bright palette. Because of the poor quality of the coloring, it is possible that the coloring was not comtemporary with the prints, but was done later.

Contents List

Folder -- Contents

     Series I.1.  Engravings by William Hogarth
F1   "A Midnight Modern Conversation" 62.5 cm. X 47.5 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1732/3

F2   "Southwark Fair" 63 cm. x  47 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1733/4

F3   "Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn"  63 cm. x  47 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1738

F4   "The Distrest Poet" 63 cm. x  47.5 cm.
           Engraving, hand-colored, 1740

F5   "The Enraged Musician" 63 cm. x  47.5 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1741

F6   "M. Garrick in the Character of Richard the 3rd" 63 cm. x  47 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1746

F7   "Beer Street" 47 cm. x 63 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1751

F8   "Gin Lane"  47 cm. x 63 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1751

F9   "The Invasion, Plate 1st France" 63 cm. x  47.5 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1756

F10  "The Invasion, Pl. 2d England" 63 cm. x 46.5 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1756

F11  "The Cockpit" 63 cm. x  47 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1759

     Series I.2.  Engravings after designs by William Hogarth

F12  "The March to Finchley" 63 cm. x 47.5 cm.
           Engraving, hand-colored, 1750, republished 1761
           Engraved by Luke Sullivan

F13  "Taste in High Life" 63 cm. x  47 cm.
          Engraving, hand-colored, 1808
          Engraved by Sam Phillips. Published by Boydell & Co.

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