William Hogarth, English, 1697-1764
Title: The Western Family
Date: 1738
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
72 x 84 cm
Signed: lower right: W. Hogarth pinx. 173[..]
Credit Line: Bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Object Number: NGI.792
DescriptionOn his return from a hunting trip, Thomas Western (1714–1766), Squire of Rivenhall in Essex, is shown joining his family for tea while a servant in the background puts away his gun. While his daughter is entranced, Western touches the hand of his wife, Anne Callis (d.1776), and offers the dead game to his mother, Mary. She is seeking the attention of a visiting clergyman, probably Archdeacon C. Plumptre, to whom a liveried servant is giving a letter.
At this date, tea drinking was still an expensive activity, as is reflected in the blue and white oriental porcelain tea service laid on a silvered side table. The pot appears in several of Hogarth’s paintings. Wealthy aspirations continue in the harpsichord, the painted screen, the gilt mirror and the overdoor of game in the style of Jan Fyt.
Hogarth began painting these popular but time-consuming conversation-piece groups in 1728. Within three years, however, he was refusing clients as he turned increasingly to satirical depictions of modern life such as The Rake’s Progress, for which he is best known today. Hogarth’s painting is superbly handled and can be dated close to The Strode Family (tate Britain, London).
March 2016
At this date, tea drinking was still an expensive activity, as is reflected in the blue and white oriental porcelain tea service laid on a silvered side table. The pot appears in several of Hogarth’s paintings. Wealthy aspirations continue in the harpsichord, the painted screen, the gilt mirror and the overdoor of game in the style of Jan Fyt.
Hogarth began painting these popular but time-consuming conversation-piece groups in 1728. Within three years, however, he was refusing clients as he turned increasingly to satirical depictions of modern life such as The Rake’s Progress, for which he is best known today. Hogarth’s painting is superbly handled and can be dated close to The Strode Family (tate Britain, London).
March 2016
ProvenancePresumed to have been commissioned c. 1738 by Thomas Western of Rivenhall, Essex; by descent; Christie's, London, 13 June 1913, 'Sir Thomas C. Callis Western, Bt.' sale, lot 106, bt. Agnew's; purchased, Sir Hugh Lane, c.1913; bequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Exhibition HistoryBritish Institution, London, 1814
British Institution, London, 1865
British Institution, London, 1867
Pictures of Old Masters given and bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by the late Sir Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1918
British Art, City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1934
British Art c. 1000-1860, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1934
William Hogarth 1697-1764, Tate Gallery, London, 1951
European Masters of the 18th Century, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1954-1955
Georgian Essex (1714-1837), Valence House, Dagenham, 1958
Ulster Museum, Stranmillis, Belfast, May - August 1960
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
La Peinture Britannique de Gainsborough à Bacon, Musée des Beaux Arts, Bordeaux, 1977
Master European Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, Art Institute of Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
Boucher & Chadrin: Taking Tea, Wallace Collection, London, 12 June - 7 September 2008; Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, 24 September - 13 December 2008
British Institution, London, 1865
British Institution, London, 1867
Pictures of Old Masters given and bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by the late Sir Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1918
British Art, City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1934
British Art c. 1000-1860, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1934
William Hogarth 1697-1764, Tate Gallery, London, 1951
European Masters of the 18th Century, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1954-1955
Georgian Essex (1714-1837), Valence House, Dagenham, 1958
Ulster Museum, Stranmillis, Belfast, May - August 1960
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
La Peinture Britannique de Gainsborough à Bacon, Musée des Beaux Arts, Bordeaux, 1977
Master European Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, Art Institute of Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
Boucher & Chadrin: Taking Tea, Wallace Collection, London, 12 June - 7 September 2008; Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, 24 September - 13 December 2008
Label TextThomas Western (1714-1766) was a country squire in Essex. He commissioned Hogarth to paint a fashionable conversation piece of his family to show off his wealth and taste. He is shown just returned from a hunting expedition - a servant can be seen putting away his gun in the background. He offers a dead game bird to his mother, Mary, while looking at his wife Anne Callis (d.1776). The silver tea service, large gilt mirror, painted screen and harpsichord allude to the family’s status. The inclusion of a clergyman, probably Archdeacon Plumptre, adds further respectability to the scene.