William Hogarth had an extremely successful and multi-faceted career. After an early apprenticeship to a goldsmith, he began to produce engraved designs, and by 1720 he had started his own business printing billheads and book illustrations. He later took up oil painting and became known primarily for his conversation pieces, series paintings of 'modern moral subjects,' and for his satirical commentary on eighteenth century English society. Hogarth dramatically transformed Britain’s status as an artistic nation, which had previously relied on imported painters such as Rubens and Van Dyck.
THE ARTWORKDaniel Lock (1681-1754) was a founding governor and the chief architect of the Foundling Hospital in London. Hogarth depicts him here, holding the plans for said institution in his right hand and pointing to them with his left. He is dressed in a wig and a plain coat with the ends of his cravat passed through the second buttonhole in a timely Steinkirk fashion. Lock is seated in front of a curtain and beside an open window through which a river with boats can be seen. As a portraitist, Hogarth exhibited a frank yet sympathetic approach to his subjects and this particular piece demonstrates his tendency towards conveying middle-class solidity in an unaffected yet dignified manner.
THE ADDITIONALHogarth himself was thoroughly invested in the Foundling Hospital, which was established by royal charter in 1739 to provide hospitality for abandoned children, commonly referred to as foundlings. In addition to his involvement as a founding governor, Hogarth dedicated his talents to the cause by designing the children's uniforms and the Coat of Arms. He decorated the hospital walls with works of his own, including The March of the Guards to Finchley, and with pieces donated by British artists including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. The hospital came to serve a dual purpose with the premises functioning as an exhibition hall for the public display of works by English artists, and it was, in fact, the first contemporary gallery of British art.
In 1731, Hogarth executed his first series of modern morality paintings: A Harlot’s Progress, which consisted of six scenes and was eventually destroyed in a fire. This was a radically new concept intended for wider dissemination through engraving and was followed by A Rake's Progress (c1735, Sir John Soane's Museum) and Marriage a la Mode (c1743, National Gallery). His works highlighted and commented on a variety of eighteenth-century themes that were as much of interest then as they are today. Engravings of the latter series were in such high demand that people began pirating them, which led Hogarth to lobby for the Copyright Act of 1735 as protection for writers and artists.
