HOGARTH, William, English painter and engraver: b. London, 10 Nov. 1697; d. there, 25 Oct. 1764. He studied art at Sir James Thorn hill's school, James street, Covent Garden. About 1720 he set up for himself, and designed plates for booksellers, the chief of which are the illustrations to Gray's edition of (1726). He had ample employment for what are called •conversation pieces,'" that is, groups of family portraits, united by some common occupation or interest, but never cared greatly for this branch of art. In March 1729 he mar ried clandestinely the daughter of Sir James Thornhill, and shortly afterward began to dis play his extraordinary faculty for depicting the vices and follies of his time. In 1730-31 he painted 'A Harlot's Progress,' a series of six pictures, like many of his other works, engraved by himself. It was published in April 1732. The 'Harlot's Progress' was followed by other satiric delineations, such as 'A Midnight Mod ern Conversation' (1734) ; 'Southwark Fair' (1735) ; 'A Rake's Progress' (1735) ; 'The Dis trest Poet' (1736) ; 'The Four Times of the Day,' and the 'Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn' (1738). With less success he also pro duced the large canvases still in Saint Bartholo mew's Hospital— the 'Pool of Bethesda' and the 'Good Samaritan,' both executed in 1736; and also painted several portraits. The series of graphic satires was, however, continued by the 'Enraged Musician' (1741) and the famous 'Marriage a la Mode' (his master piece), six pictures now in the National Gallery, and engraved by various hands in 1745. 'Industry and Idleness,' 12 plates, fol
lowed these in 1747; 'Calais Gate' (1749) came next, and in 1750 the fine plate known familiarly as the 'March to Finchley.' The minor plates of 'Beer Street' and 'Gin Lane' and the set called 'The Progress of Cruelty' belong to 1751. In 1753 Hogarth published his (Analysis of Beauty,' a treatise containing many shrewd remarks but confused and illiter ate in style and the cause of much ridicule. After this he produced (with the aid of Grig nion and others) the four prints of the 'Elec tion Series' (1755-58), the 'Cockpit' (1759), etc. In 1762-63 he became involved in a miser able quarrel with Wilkes and Churchill, the result of which, on his side, was the well-known portraits of Wilkes, and of Churchill as a bear ((The Bruiser)). Most of Hogarth's pictures, which now enjoy a much higher repute for tech nique than formerly, are preserved in public or private collections in Great Britain. He was entirely uninfluenced by foreign art. His pow ers of invention and combination were extraor dinary; and as a humorist and social satirist with the pencil he has never been surpassed. There can be no doubt also that he genuinely desired to assist by his work in the reformation of manners. Consult the biographies by Sala (1866), and Dobson (1879).