The Rake's Progress, Plate 4
Artist/Maker
William Hogarth
(English, 1697–1764)
AuthorRelated poet
Dr. John Hoadley
(British, 1711–1776)
DateJune 25, 1735
MediumEtching and engraving
DimensionsImage: 14 1/8 × 16 1/8 in. (35.8 × 41 cm)
Sheet: 18 9/16 × 24 13/16 in. (47.2 × 63 cm)
Sheet: 18 9/16 × 24 13/16 in. (47.2 × 63 cm)
Credit LineAnnie A. Wager Bequest
PortfolioThe Rake's Progress
Object number1975.206
Status
On viewPlagued by mounting debts, Tom arrives at St. James’s Palace, Mayfair, to be presented at court. As he exits his hired sedan chair, a bailiff attempts to arrest Tom for debt. However, the faithful Sarah Young (last seen in Plate 1 of the series) intervenes, offering bail money from her meager earnings. This demonstrates her generous spirit and enduring, if misplaced, love for him.
In the distance, a bolt of lightning strikes the roof of White’s Chocolate House, an elite social club. Hogarth is perhaps foreshadowing that White’s will reappear as the setting of the sixth plate of this series.
Exhibition History
In the distance, a bolt of lightning strikes the roof of White’s Chocolate House, an elite social club. Hogarth is perhaps foreshadowing that White’s will reappear as the setting of the sixth plate of this series.
William Hogarth: Master of Graphic Social Satire
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (November 17, 1978 - December 17, 1978 )
'A more new way of proceeding': Representation and Narrative in the Art of William Hogarth
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (March 23, 1995 - May 29, 1995 )
Hogarth's Progress
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 31, 2025 - August 10, 2025 )
Collections
- European
- On View
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June 25, 1735
June 25, 1735
June 25, 1735
June 25, 1735
June 25, 1735
June 25, 1735 (retouched by Hogarth 1763)
June 25, 1735
