William Hogarth

William Hogarth's Morning (Four Times of The Day): The scene is Covent Garden on a wintry morning. According to the clock on St. Paul's (upper right corner) it is nearing 7 A.M. Above the clock a statue of Time bearing his scythe and hourglass resides. The motto inscribed on it reads, "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi" - 'Thus passes the Glory of the World'. In the centre of the composition is an elderly woman, lavishly dressed. She is on her way to church, as her freezing page boy is carrying a prayer book. This aging aristocrat purposely avoids looking at the beggar to her right as well as the lovers embracing in front of "Tom King's Coffee House". In the background the activities of the day are beginning. A Quack peddles his "Dr. Rock's" cure-all, and two children gaze at a woman carting her vegetables to market on her head.

Whether fact or fiction, some accounts relate that William Hogarth modeled the unappealing old lady upon the features of his aunt. When his aunt viewed the engraving she indignantly dismissed the artist from her will.

The Four Times of the Day was first published by William Hogarth in 1738. Three plates from the set were both designed and engraved by him. The remaining plate, Evening, was designed by William Hogarth but engraved by Bernard Baron, a French engraver who resided in London. The Four Times of the Day delineates London life and entertainments and ranks as one of Hogarth's greatest sets

Morning was both designed and engraved by William Hogarth. This original engraving and etching is printed upon early nineteenth century wove paper and with large, full margins as published by William Heath in 1822. It is a fine, original example of the satirical art created by the British artist, William Hogarth. Morning; Paulson Catalogue #152, Second and Final State (Complete Set of Four Original Engravings).