My (humble) ART Collection (Selected)
William Hogarth's original etching and engraving, Pit Ticket: The Cockpit depicts a cross-section of men from all classes and professions enthusiastically waging their money on the 'Royal Sport'. The symbolically blind nobleman in the centre of the composition impassively accepts their bets.
Pit Ticket: The Cockpit was both designed and engraved by William Hogarth. This original engraving and etching is printed upon early nineteenth century wove paper and with large, full margins as published by William Heath in 1822. It is a fine, original example of the satirical art created by the British artist, William Hogarth. Pit Ticket: The Cockpit; Paulson Catalogue # 206 First and Only State.
The name of William Hogarth requires little in the way of an introduction. He is the unquestioned father of England's rich tradition of satire and remains one of the most original and lively minds in the entire history of British art. Famous for his paintings, Hogarth's engravings are even more paramount: the imagery from Morning, Noon, Evening, Night, Marriage a la Mode, The Four Stages of Cruelty, Gin Lane and a host of others are crucial to an understanding of eighteenth century art and culture. Yet Hogarth's art stretched beyond his time and his masterful engravings are as relevant to our society as they were to his.
Training first as an engraver, Hogarth became an independent illustrator as early as 1720. In his spare time he studied painting techniques, notably under Sir James Thornhill. By 1730 he established himself as a portrait painter. Yet at the same time Hogarth began creating sets of anecdotal pictures which brilliantly satirized society and its activities.
The first such set, A Rake's Progress (1731), gained for Hogarth a strong and lasting national reputation. During the following decades he both painted and engraved individual works and sets of images which forged the cornerstone for English satirical art. Such great masters as Rowlandson, Gillray, Heath and Cruikshank followed in Hogarth's footsteps.