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ANTIQUE #SA900714

Set Of 4 Hogarth Engravings - The 'prints Of An Election'

£2,750    $3,434    €3,293
Set of 4 Mid 18th Century Black and White Engravings by William Hogarth of The ‘Prints of an Election’
 
Hogarth’s Election series was inspired by the notorious Oxfordshire contest in the General Election of
 
1754. The seats had been held, uncontested, by the Tories, since 1710. Then in 1752 the Whigs, who already held a large majority in Parliament, decided to contest the Oxfordshire seats and this heralded a two-year campaign characterised by unprecedented levels of bribery and corruption. These prints are based on the four paintings Hogarth started not long after the General Election. By this time the events in Oxfordshire had been widely publicised through journals and pamphlets. The paintings were bought from Hogarth by the actor David Garrick and later acquired by John Soane at an auction of the effects of Mrs Garrick in 1823. The Gentleman’s Magazine had been critical of Hogarth’s work calling it, ‘the very many disgusting, if not depraved exhibitions of human nature’ in the paintings. Fortunately Soane instead recognised them as the finest of Hogarth’s satirical works.
 
Circa1758 Price: £2,750-00p.
 
H:20.5”, 51.25 cms, W: 26.3”, 65.75 cms, D:1”, 2.5 cms.
 
We have taken the following from the book ‘Hogarth The Complete Engravings’ by Joseph Burke and Colin Caldwell, page 21, fourth paragraph:
 
The Four Prints of an Election (1755-8) is the supreme masterpiece of this period, his tour de force in mock-heroic baroque parody.
 
Notes on the Plates numbers 237-40:
 
The election satire was occasioned by the Oxfordshire election of 1754. The four prints were dedicated respectively to Henry Fox, later Baron Holland; Sir Charles Hanbury Williams; Sir Edward Walpole; and George Hay, MP, the first three being prominent in the Whig Party.
 
237. AN ELECTION ENTERTAINMENT. February 1755. Fourth State. By Hogarth, with ass...
Antique #SA900714, shown on this page, originates from the 18th century. For historical context, the timeline below highlights the period when it was made:
←C18th
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W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd
Specialists in 17th-18th and early 19th century Fine English Furniture, Art, Clocks and other Objets d'art
W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd is also an antique trade association member of LAPADA
Oxfordshire
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