William Hogarth
1697 - 1764
William Hogarth engravings from Totteridge Gallery
Four Prints of an Election
William Hogarth's election prints and the issues illustrated derive from the notorious Oxfordshire election of 1754, and are his last great set of engravings. Hogarth engraved most of the first plate, which is considered his most complex and worked-over engraving. He gave up engraving himself after his difficulties with the first plate to concentrate on his painting; but he was evidently dissatisfied with the work of others, and so took a hand in the third and fourth plates. The original set sold for £2-2-0. Only his 'Rakes Progress' series, and 'Before & After' sold for a higher price.