The First Stage of Cruelty
William Hogarth
1751
Medium
etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 38.3 × 31.7 cm (15 1/16 × 12 1/2 in.) mount (irreg.): 43.1 × 35.5 cm (16 15/16 × 14 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1944.5.36
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...