Hudibras (Set of 12).

Biography:

William Hogarth (1697-1794)

Hogarth
was born in London, the son of an unsuccessful schoolmaster and writer from
Westmoreland. After apprenticeship to a goldsmith, he began to produce his own
engraved designs from 1710. He later took up oil painting, starting with small
portrait groups called conversation pieces. He went on to create a series of
paintings satirising contemporary customs, but based on earlier Italian prints,
of which the first was ‘The Harlot’s Progress’ (1731), and perhaps the most
famous ‘The Rake’s Progress’. His engravings were so plagiarised that he
lobbied for the Copyright Act of 1735 as protection for writers and artists.