Hogarth’s Legacy

Edited by Cynthia Roman, curator of prints, drawings, and paintings at the Lewis Walpole Library

(Yale University Press)

The legacy of graphic artist William Hogarth (1697-1764) remains so emphatic that even his last name has evolved into a common vernacular term referring to his characteristically scathing form of satire. Featuring rarely seen images and written contributions from leading scholars, this book showcases a collection of the artist’s works gathered from the Lewis Walpole Library and other repositories. It attests to the idiosyncratic nature of his style and its international influence, which continues to incite aesthetic and moral debate among critics. The eight essays by Hogarth experts help to further contextualize the artist’s unique narrative strategies, embedding the work within German philosophical debates and the moral confusion of the Victorian period and emphasizing the social and political dimensions that are part of its impact.