William Hogarth

A Harlot's Progress follows the downfall of a young woman named Moll Hackabout in London. Hogarth first issued the series as engravings in 1732.

Hogarth turned everyday London vice, class ambition, marriage, drinking, and crime into sharp visual stories. Series such as A Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode work almost like moral comic strips from the 1700s.

Gin Lane and Beer Street were published in 1751 and contrast destructive gin drinking with a healthier image of beer. They are tied to public debate about alcohol and poverty in 18th-century London.

He did both. Hogarth painted portraits and narrative scenes, then often turned his moral series into engravings so they could reach a wider paying audience.