Fine Art Poster
From £37
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
The Distressed Poet - William Hogarth
Regular price
£37.00 GBP
Sale price
£37.00 GBP
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Made to order
Description
A satirical etching by William Hogarth depicting a struggling poet in a cramped London garret, surrounded by the pressures of domestic life and debt.
William Hogarth produced The Distressed Poet in 1736, a work that captures the precarious life of a hack writer in eighteenth-century London. The scene depicts a cramped, attic-level garret where the protagonist sits at a desk, scratching his head in frustration as he attempts to compose a poem. His surroundings are chaotic: a nursing infant lies in a bed nearby, while his wife mends clothing, and a milkmaid stands at the door demanding payment for an unpaid bill.
Hogarth fills the composition with specific details that provide social commentary. A map of the gold mines of Peru hangs on the wall, a mocking reference to the poet's poverty and his unrealistic dreams of wealth. The floor is littered with discarded papers, and a cat sleeps atop a pile of discarded garments. The artist employs a sharp, linear style typical of his engravings, using cross-hatching to define the textures of the wooden floorboards, the rough plaster of the walls, and the worn fabric of the figures' clothing.
The print includes a quotation from Alexander Pope's The Dunciad, which reinforces the satirical nature of the image. Hogarth often used his prints to critique the social and economic conditions of his time, and this work is no exception. It presents a stark contrast between the intellectual aspirations of the poet and the harsh realities of his domestic life. The composition is balanced, with the poet on the right and the milkmaid on the left, creating a narrative tension that draws the viewer into the room. This print remains a primary example of Hogarth's ability to combine humour with social observation, providing a window into the everyday struggles of the period.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Complete The Look
The Distressed Poet - William Hogarth
Regular price
From £37.00 GBP
Sale price
From £37.00 GBP
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / Small Square (30x30 cm) / -
Artist Biography
William Hogarth
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.
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.
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.
Our Features
Designed for Lasting Impact
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Fine Art Framed
From £59
The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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Artist Biography
William Hogarth
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.
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.
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.
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