Royal Masquerade, Somerset House

  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
  • About the artist
    The portraits and social satires of William Hogarth, painter and engraver, have come to define the period in which he lived. His best known works include his series of satirical of paintings, such as ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ (c.1729, Birmingham City Art Gallery, private collection and National Gallery of Art, Washington) and ‘A Rake’s Progress’ (c.1734, Sir John Soane's Museum, London). He also painted formal portraits, including the philanthropist ‘Captain Thomas Coram’ (1740, Coram family, in the care of the Foundling Museum, London) and ‘The Graham Children’ (1742, National Gallery, London). Hogarth lived and worked in London for most of his life and was a major benefactor of the Foundling Museum during the 1740s, founded by Captain Coram.
  • Explore
    Subjects
    Materials & Techniques
    engraving
  • Details
    Title
    Royal Masquerade, Somerset House
    Date
    1841
    Medium
    Engraving
    Dimensions
    height: 45.8 cm, width: 57 cm
    Acquisition
    Transferred from HM Revenue and Customs, 2017
    Inscription
    below lettering: [faint pencil inscriptions]
    Provenance
    Bequest of Sir Ernest Clark to the Inland Revenue, 1951 (received 1972); transferred to GAC, 2017
    GAC number
    10320