William Hogarth
, English, 1697-1764
Title
The Election, Plate 1: 'An Election Entertainment'Date1755-1758
MediumEtching on paper
Dimensions
Plate: 43.5 x 55.5 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2013
Object numberNGI.2013.2.1
DescriptionThis is Hogarth's last moral print series, based on a set of paintings now in the Sir John Soane Museum, London. The ‘Election’ series was inspired by the riotous election of 1754 in which a Whig candidate, the Duke of Marlborough, challenged the Tories in their established stronghold in Oxfordshire. The prints were not intended as reportage but aimed to present a generalized picture of a violent, chaotic election. They were aimed at the well-to-do classes, to expose the cynicism of the aristocracy towards electoral politics. The prints show politicians using slogans, flattery, bribery and food and drink to exploit the electorate in order to further their own political ambitions. The politicians chivvy the most vulnerable sections of society - the poor, victims of alcoholism and those who are mentally or physically disabled, to vote for them and in doing so incite violence and anarchy.Inscriptionupper centre: AN ELECTION ENTERTAINMENT Plate 1
lower left: Painted and [word scratched out on plate] Engraved by Wm. Hogarth
lower right: Published 24th Feb.ry 1755. as the Act directs
lower centre: To the Right Honourable Henry Fox, &c, &c, &c, This Plate is humbly Inscrib’d by his most Obedient Humble Serv.t / W. Hogarth.