Plate four, from A Harlot's Progress
1732
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 30.2 × 37.9 cm (11 15/16 × 14 15/16 in.); Plate: 31.5 × 38.8 cm (12 7/16 × 15 5/16 in.); Sheet: 43.6 × 53.6 cm (17 3/16 × 21 1/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
228986
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Arrested and thrown into prison, the now prominently pockmarked Moll proves inadequate to the physical labor of beating hemp for hangmen’s nooses. Amid cardsharps and debtors, she appears particularly out of place in her elaborate dress. But she seems destined for even more difficult straits, given that both her former servant and the jailer’s wife are seen here stealing from her.
About the Artist
William Hogarth · 1697–1764
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, and pictorial satirist who became the first great English-born artist to attract admiration abroad. Born into poverty in London, the son of a failed schoolmaster who was imprisoned for debt, Hogarth's early experiences with the harsh realities of 18th-century urban life profoundly shaped his artistic vision. After apprenticing with si...