Where can you see William Hogarth in London?

At the National Gallery: Marriage A-la-Mode and The Shrimp Girl. At the Sir John Soane's Museum: A Rake's Progress. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is William Hogarth's most famous work in London?

Marriage A-la-Mode, of about 1743, at the National Gallery. Six scenes. A bankrupt earl sells his son to a rich merchant's daughter, and the marriage runs through boredom, adultery and a duel to a death by poison. In the second, the couple slump at breakfast after separate nights out.

When and where was William Hogarth born?

On 10 November 1697, at London. William Hogarth died on 26 October 1764, at London, aged about 67.

What is William Hogarth known for?

Born and died in London. The engravers' copyright act of 1735 is named after him. His house at Chiswick is a museum. William Hogarth was an English painter, of Rococo, satire.

Painter, 1697 to 1764

William Hogarth

Hogarth was a Londoner born and bred, and the city is his subject: its marriages for money, its gambling dens, its madhouse. He painted each story once and made his living from the engravings.

Born: 1697, London
Died: 1764, London
Movement: Rococo, satire
In London: 3 works in 2 museums

Where to see William Hogarth in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The National Gallery2 works

Marriage A-la-Mode
about 1743
Six scenes. A bankrupt earl sells his son to a rich merchant's daughter, and the marriage runs through boredom, adultery and a duel to a death by poison. In the second, the couple slump at breakfast after separate nights out.
The Shrimp Girl
about 1740 to 1745
A street seller with a basket of shellfish on her head, laughing, dashed in with a few strokes and left unfinished. His widow kept it and would show it to visitors.

Sir John Soane's Museum1 work

A Rake's Progress
1732 to 1734
Eight scenes of a young heir who spends a fortune on clothes, women and cards and ends in the madhouse of Bedlam. They hang behind folding panels in the picture room of an architect's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, which is free to visit.

The life of William Hogarth

He was apprenticed to a silver engraver, taught himself to paint, and eloped with the daughter of the king's painter. To protect his prints from pirates he campaigned for a law of copyright for engravers, which Parliament passed in 1735 and which is still called Hogarth's Act.

He was a governor of the Foundling Hospital and persuaded his fellow painters to give it pictures, which made it the first public gallery of British art.

What to know

Born and died in London
The engravers' copyright act of 1735 is named after him
His house at Chiswick is a museum

Born: 10 November 1697, London
Died: 26 October 1764, London

William Hogarth: common questions

Where can you see William Hogarth in London?: At the National Gallery: Marriage A-la-Mode and The Shrimp Girl. At the Sir John Soane's Museum: A Rake's Progress. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is William Hogarth's most famous work in London?: Marriage A-la-Mode, of about 1743, at the National Gallery. Six scenes. A bankrupt earl sells his son to a rich merchant's daughter, and the marriage runs through boredom, adultery and a duel to a death by poison. In the second, the couple slump at breakfast after separate nights out.
When and where was William Hogarth born?: On 10 November 1697, at London. William Hogarth died on 26 October 1764, at London, aged about 67.
What is William Hogarth known for?: Born and died in London. The engravers' copyright act of 1735 is named after him. His house at Chiswick is a museum. William Hogarth was an English painter, of Rococo, satire.