. General biography; or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order. us led him to look be-yond the humble walk of art to which he hadbeen destined ; and as soon as he became hisown master, he entered at the academy for de-sign in St. Martins-lane, and studied drawingfrom the life. His proficiency, however, was notconsiderable: and he would never have surpassedmediocrity as a painter, had he not penetratedthrough external form to character and man-ners. Though he was at first obliged
. General biography; or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order. us led him to look be-yond the humble walk of art to which he hadbeen destined ; and as soon as he became hisown master, he entered at the academy for de-sign in St. Martins-lane, and studied drawingfrom the life. His proficiency, however, was notconsiderable: and he would never have surpassedmediocrity as a painter, had he not penetratedthrough external form to character and man-ners. Though he was at first obliged to en-grave arms and shop-bills for a livelihood, hesoon employed his invention in the decorationof books, and furnished sets of pl.\tes for severalpublications of the time. An edition of Hudi-bras afforded him the first subject suited to hisgenius ; yet he felt so much the shackles of othermens ideas, that he was less successful in thistask than might have been expected. Mean-time he had attained the use of the brush, as wellas of the pen and graver; and having a greatfacility in catching a likeness, he acquired consi-derable employment as a portrait painter. Grace / William FIogarth HOG ( 225 ) II O G was, however, no attribute of his pencil, and hewas more disposed to aggravate than to softenthe harsh touches of nature. His talents fororiginal comic design gradually unfolded them-selves, and various public occasions produceddisplays of his ludicrous powers. In 1730 heformed a clandestine marriage \^th the onlydaughter of sir James Thornhill, the painter;and soon after, he commenced his first greatseries of moral paintings, The Harlots Pro-gress. Some of these pieces, when they werefinished, were desii^nedly placed in the way ofhis father-in-law, in order to reconcile him to3 match which the obscurity of the object of hisdaughters choice had led him todisapprove. Hisobservation upon them was, The man whocan produce such works, can maintain a wifewithout a portion. He so
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