Exhibition: Hogarth: London Voices, London Lives

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FROM A RAKE’S PROGRESS TO THE CITY TODAY

William Hogarth’s remarkable series of paintings, A Rake’s Progress, famously depicted a morality tale of the city and was bought by Sir John Soane to hang at Pitzhanger in 1802, to inspire and entertain his guests. For the first time in 200 years, it has returned as the centrepiece of our exhibition, reflecting voices and issues in London today.

286 years later, seven contemporary artists take inspiration from the crowd, ever present in Hogarth’s paintings, to offer a modern reading of London and its social challenges and provide a snapshot of the people and places that give life to the capital today. Through photography, film and sound, the artists explore and celebrate aspects of life in London, from the polarising extreme views expressed on social media and the hub of social interaction in the barber shop, to the challenges of retaining outdoor space for the public.

Faisal Abdu’Allah – Ruth Ewan – James Fritz – Oliver Payne & Nick Relph – John Riddy – debbie tucker green –  archive from Long Live Southbank

A Rake’s Progress depicts the social conditions of London in narrating the decline and fall of a young man, Tom Rakewell, who inherits a fortune and embarks on a profligate lifestyle in fashionable London before succumbing to financial ruin and madness.

It was bought for Pitzhanger in 1802 for £598.10 from the auction house, Christie’s, to be shown alongside Soane’s growing collection of art and antiquities, from the ancient to the contemporary. When Soane sold Pitzhanger in 1810, he transported the paintings to his central London home in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, now Sir John Soane’s Museum, which is loaning the series to the exhibition.

Read what some of our media and visitors have been saying about Hogarth: London Voices, London Lives here.

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#HogarthLondonVoices

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“Everything in Private Eye is nicked from Hogarth, let’s admit it!”

Ian Hislop

If you missed the informative and hilarious talk discussing all things Hogarth and satire between journalist and broadcaster Ian Hislop and Lorraine Heggessey, it is now available online. The whole recording can be enjoyed for £8 – a great way to find out more about A Rake’s Progress before visiting.

The exhibition has been generously supported by an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant and the loan of A Rake’s Progress is supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the Weston Loan Programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.