William Hogarth – Father of Satirical Caricature

William Hogarth was one of the greatest English printmakers, satirists and cartoonists of the 18th Century. His work ranged from realistic portraiture the series of comic book style strips of pictures he called “modern moral subjects,” such as A Harlot’s Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode. Hogarth was born in London to a lower middle class family whose fortunes vacillated but were dealt and extreme blow when his father, a teacher and classical scholar, was thrown into prison because of unpaid debts. With their social message, Hogarth’s works were widely reproduced and very popular and influential in his lifetime.