Hogarth invented the comic strip three hundred years early. A Rake's Progress (1733) and A Harlot's Progress (1732) are narrative sequences of paintings and prints that tell moral stories through sequential images, each one packed with visual detail that rewards close reading. The drunk in the tavern, the debtor in prison, the madman in Bedlam: each scene is a chapter. Together they form a novel in pictures.
Key facts
Biography
He was born in Smithfield, London, near the meat market. His father, a schoolteacher, was imprisoned for debt when William was a child. The experience of debtors' prison appears throughout his work. He apprenticed to a silver engraver and taught himself painting by copying old masters and observing London street life with the attention of a novelist.
He was shrewd about money and copyright. The Engraving Copyright Act of 1735 ('Hogarth's Act') was passed largely through his lobbying. It gave printmakers legal ownership of their designs for the first time, preventing pirated copies. He was protecting his income: the popular prints were his main revenue source.
He painted portraits, historical scenes, and the extraordinary Shrimp Girl, an unfinished head study of a street vendor that anticipates Impressionism by a century. The brushwork is loose, fresh, and immediate. It does not look like anything else painted in the 1740s. He also wrote The Analysis of Beauty (1753), a treatise on aesthetics that argued beauty derived from serpentine lines, which was mocked but was not wrong.
He died in 1764, at sixty-six. He is buried in Chiswick, west London. His tomb has a modest inscription. His influence on British satirical art, from Gillray to Banksy, has no inscription and no end.
Timeline
- 1726Painted "Hudibras Encounters the Skimmington, from 'Hudibras', by Samuel Butler" aged 29.
- 1728Painted "Prospero and Miranda from "The Tempest" of William Shakespeare" aged 31.
- 1740Painted "Portrait of Lady Mary Grey and Lord George Grey" aged 43.
- 1741Painted "William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, Later 4th Duke of Devonshire" aged 44.
- 1752Painted "Columbus Breaking the Egg (Christopher Columbus)" aged 55.
- 1763Painted "The Bruiser Charles Churchill, once the Reverend, in the Character of a Russian Hercules" aged 66.
Notable Works
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Where to See William Hogarth
24 museums worldwide.
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20 works
Tate
Tate Britain, United Kingdom
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Is william hogarth rococo?
William Hogarth's example frustrates any attempt to view the English Rococo in a definitive or simplistic way. His early training was with an ornamental engraver, and he advocated a concept of beauty based on the sinuous line.What did william hogarth do?
William Hogarth exemplified a comical, satirical social outlook on English society in English painting. He considered himself to be a “comic history painter” who could entertain while improving the mind, and his narrative images were very satirical.What is william hogarth best known for?
William Hogarth is best known for satirising contemporary society in his paintings and engravings. He considered himself to be a dramatist in paint, and his works gained wide recognition, as he made engravings from them.What was william hogarth known for?
William Hogarth is known for satirising contemporary society in his paintings and engravings. He considered himself to be a dramatist in paint, and his works gained wide recognition, as he made engravings from them.When did william hogarth die?
William Hogarth died in 1764 at the age of 67.Where did william hogarth live?
William Hogarth was born in London in 1697. One summer day, he went on an excursion to Highgate with some companions.Who was william hogarth?
William Hogarth was a painter and engraver who lived from 1697 to 1764. Influenced by contemporary satirists like Fielding and Swift, he invented a new genre: the comic strip, or a sequence of anecdotal pictures that poked fun at the foibles of the day.Why does william hogarth use iconography?
William Hogarth would paint edifying stories and warning examples in such a way that anyone who saw the series of pictures would understand all the incidents and the lessons they taught. His paintings showed a 'Rake's Progress' from profligacy and idleness to crime and death, or 'The Four Stages of Cruelty' from a boy teasing a cat to a grown-up's brutal murder.Why was william hogarth important?
William Hogarth exemplified a comical, satirical social outlook on English society. He considered himself to be a “comic history painter” who could entertain while improving the mind, and his narrative images were very satirical.William hogarth art movement?
William Hogarth's example frustrates any attempt to view the English Rococo in a definitive or simplistic way. His early training was with an ornamental engraver, and he advocated a concept of beauty based on the sinuous line.William hogarth most famous work?
William Hogarth's sardonic series of paintings that mocked high society gained wide recognition. One such story tells of a girl who arrives in London only to be lured into a more lucrative career as a prostitute.When was william hogarth born?
William Hogarth was born in 1697 in the United Kingdom. William Hogarth died in 1764, aged 67.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for William Hogarth.
- [1] museum Brooklyn Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Government Art Collection Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Burrell Collection Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Harris Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book Howard Simon, 500 Years of Illustration Used for: biography, museum holdings.
- [8] book Susie Hodge, Art Used for: stylistic analysis.
- [9] book Palmer, Allison Lee, Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture Used for: biography.
- [10] book Allison Lee Palmer, Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture Used for: biography, museum holdings.
- [11] book Milam, Jennifer Dawn, Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art Used for: biography, museum holdings, stylistic analysis.
- [12] book Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst Hans), 1909-2001, The story of art Used for: biography.
- [13] book E. H. Gombrich, The Story of Art - 16th Edition Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-06-10. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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