Biographical Anecdotes of William Hogarth, with a Catalogue of His Works

This volume represents the first major biographical treatment of William Hogarth, the London artist who revolutionized visual satire and essentially invented the modern cartoon. Written by John Nichols in 1781, it was prompted by Horace Walpole's earlier writings on English painters, though Nichols found himself accumulating far more material than a simple pamphlet could contain. The book weaves together personal anecdotes, accounts of Hogarth's artistic beginnings and early struggles, and his eventual rise to prominence as a figure who blended sharp social commentary with brilliant technical skill. What makes this work essential is not merely its biographical content but the comprehensive catalog of Hogarth's prints and designs that accompanies it, documenting works now scattered across museums worldwide. Nichols had access to sources and witnesses no later scholar could reach, making this an irreplaceable primary document for understanding both the artist and the vibrant, often vicious world of eighteenth-century English art and politics. For anyone seeking to understand the foundations of visual satire, or the life of the man who made Londoners see themselves in mirrors held up by an engraver's burin, this remains indispensable.