Skip to Content
Closed today, next open Thursday. Closed today, next open Thursday.

Plate one, from A Harlot's Progress

A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1732

Artist:

William Hogarth
English, 1697-1764

About this artwork

One of Hogarth’s four major print cycles of “modern moral subjects” based on his paintings, A Harlot’s Progress is a tale of innocence led astray. As indicated by its title, which subverts that of John Bunyan’s popular Christian allegory, the 1678 Pilgrim’s Progress, Hogarth’s project traces a country girl’s loss of purity and resulting imprisonment, illness, and death. Here the gullible girl, Moll Hackabout, is seduced by the promises of a historical madam, Mother Needham, who is dressed respectably to lure naïve London newcomers into her fashionable brothel.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

William Hogarth

Title

Plate one, from A Harlot's Progress

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1732

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 30 × 37.5 cm (11 13/16 × 14 13/16 in.); Plate: 32 × 39.2 cm (12 5/8 × 15 7/16 in.); Sheet: 43.4 × 53.7 cm (17 1/8 × 21 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

The Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Fund

Reference Number

2015.216.1

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/228937/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share