William Hogarth, “Time Smoking a Picture”, 1761

William Hogarth (1697–1764)
“Time Smoking a Picture,” 1761

Technical Details & Condition:
Etching, engraving and aquatint on wove paper with full margins as issued. Published in the esteemed 1822 Heath Edition of Hogarth's works—the final edition printed from Hogarth's original engraved plates.

The Art Gallery of NSW (Australia) provides insightful commentary on this print:
“This is Hogarth's most consciously learned image, using quotations from classical texts to support his challenge to the gentlemanly taste for old and darkened Italian paintings. From the 1730s onwards, he railed against the taste for dubious old master paintings authenticated by dealers and 'dark masters'. Time's scythe pierces the canvas, making the point that time is not a beautifier but a destroyer.” (https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/8658/#about)

This is a superb, nearly faultless impression—richly inked and crisply printed. The sheet, with its generously wide margins, is in pristine condition considering its large size and age—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions:
• Sheet: 65.8 x 50.5 cm
• Platemark: 24.5 x 18.6 cm
• Outer image borderline: 22 x 17.4 cm

Lettering on Plate:
• On the edge of the framed painting: “Crates_ [Greek inscription in two lines translated: ‘Time is not a clever craftsman, for he makes everything more obscure’] See Spectator/ Vol: II, Page 83.”
• Lower right: “As Statues moulder into Worth. P: W:” — initials of Paul Whitehead, the satirical poet and Hogarth’s contemporary.
• Lower centre: “To Nature and your Self appeal, / Nor learn of others what to feel_. Anon:”

References:
• Paulson 208 III/III (Ronald Paulson, Hogarth's Graphic Works, 1965, Yale University Press, pp. 173–74, cat. no. 208)
• British Museum (first state impression): https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1857-0509-15
• Art Gallery of NSW (preliminary drawing): https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/7624/

Price & Shipping:
AU$318 (approximately US$223.20 / €188.83 / £163.99), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this powerful allegorical warning against valuing artworks based solely on the effects of time—featuring the personification of Time as a winged figure blowing smoke onto a painting to simulate patina, with his scythe “distressing” the surface while seated upon a broken sculpture (possibly a fake Greek kouros)—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.