William Hogarth emerged as the dominant figure in the London art world during the early 1740s. Trained initially as an engraver, Hogarth fought hard as a young man to assert his individuality and independence as a painter. His earliest works, dating from the 1720s, were profoundly influenced by the interplay of contemporary theatrical conventions and life in the modern city. From the beginning Hogarth was fascinated by controversial issues such as prostitution, gambling, mob violence, poverty and social prejudice. However, Hogarth himself was not immune from prejudice, typified by his jingoistic attitude towards the French, his hostility towards Catholicism, and his distaste for the German-born King, George II – a man notoriously indifferent to the visual arts.

During Hogarth’s lifetime British art patrons continued to be obsessed with portraiture above all else. However, the range of portraiture and the variety of clientele rapidly expanded. For generations portraiture had extended beyond the confines of the aristocracy to an educated elite. Now it was also used increasingly by professional families to assert their particular social rituals and dynastic aspirations. These people also took pleasure in commissioning genre subjects and views of their immediate surroundings, town houses, country estates, scenes of commerce and city life.

Although Hogarth worked as a painter and engraver he was fascinated by other art forms, notably sculpture. Through his portraits and in his writings on art he explored the relative merits of working in two and threedimensions. Among his friends he counted the country’s greatest sculptor, Louis François Roubiliac, with whom he taught at the St Martin’s Lane Academy. Like many self-made men of his generation, Hogarth was a philanthropist, notably supporting the Foundling Hospital through gifts of his own work and his activities as a Governor. He also used the Hospital as the forum for the first exhibition of contemporary British art.

This display has been devised by curator Martin Postle

British Art Displays 1500-2004

Supported by BP