Description:
William Hogarth (British, 1697-1764)
The Four Times of Day: Morning, Noon, Evening, Night
Signed and titled in the plates.
Four engravings on paper (posthumous edition),plate sizes to 19 1/2 x 15 5/8 in. (49.3 x 39.6 cm),unmatted, unframed.
Condition: Staining along bottom edge and toning to all edges, Evening and Night each with a small tear l.l. edge, Night with soiling u.r. margin.
N.B. This set of engravings is described by Joseph Burke and Colin Caldwell in Hogarth: The Complete Engravings as after four paintings by Jonathan Tyers from about 1736. Morning, Noon, and Night were executed by Hogarth, while Evening was engraved by B. Baron. They parody well-known public scenes of middle class and vulgar entertainment in London. Morning is set in Covent Garden in winter. Noon depicts a street in spring with the steeple of St. Giles-in-the-Fields in the distance. Evening is set in summer at Sadler's Wells, and Night shows a street leading to Charing Cross. (Burke and Caldwell, 177-180)
Estimate $300-400