William Hogarth

Born in London in 1697, William Hogarth became one of the most distinctive British artists of the 18th century. He trained as an engraver and built a career that moved between portraiture, printmaking, writing, and satire, developing what he called "modern moral subjects"—storytelling series that followed characters through temptation, downfall, and public embarrassment.

He is especially remembered for works such as A Harlot’s Progress, A Rake’s Progress, and Marriage A-la-Mode, which used sequential scenes to expose the vanities and cruelties of Georgian society. Alongside these narrative series, he painted portraits, designed book illustrations, and wrote The Analysis of Beauty, showing that he was interested not only in making art but also in explaining how it worked.

Hogarth died in 1764, but his reputation has endured because his art feels both theatrical and observant: full of comic detail, yet deeply alert to the pressures of money, status, and human weakness. He is often seen as a key figure in British art and an early master of visual storytelling.