DISCOVERART

William Hogarth

Plate three, from A Harlot's Progress

1732
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
30 × 37.5 cm (11.8 × 14.8 in)

SEE IT IN PERSON

Not currently on view

In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

View at artic.edu ↗Plan a visit ↗

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

In this print Moll has gone from being the kept woman to a common prostitute, with markedly shabbier surroundings and a servant whose nose has been partially eaten away by syphilis. Hogarth even posted a print by her bed depicting the highwayman Macheath, antihero of the wildly popular Beggar’s Opera , to suggest the rough company she keeps. She is oblivious as magistrates enter the sparsely furnished room to arrest her.

Source ↗

Be the first to share your thoughts.

Sign in to join the discussion.

Community guidelines

More by William Hogarth

The Wedding of Stephen Beckingham and Mary CoxThe Wedding of Stephen Beckingham and Mary CoxPlate two, from A Harlot's ProgressPlate two, from A Harlot's ProgressPlate three, from A Harlot's ProgressPlate three, from A Harlot's ProgressPlate six, from A Harlot's ProgressPlate six, from A Harlot's ProgressTime Smoking a PictureTime Smoking a PictureSarah MalcolmSarah MalcolmCredulity, Superstition, and FanaticismCredulity, Superstition, and FanaticismPaul Before Felix BurlesquedPaul Before Felix Burlesqued

More like this

Les Adieux, from Le Monument du CostumeJean Michel Moreau the Younger|Restif de La Bretonne|Robert Strolling Actresses Dressing in a BarnWilliam Hogarth (British, 1697–1764) — Strolling Actresses DFashion MerchantRené Gaillard|François Boucher — Fashion Merchant[photo-reproduction of Hogarth's print illustrating the Dunciad, Book I, line III]Alfred Capel Cure — [photo-reproduction of Hogarth's print iMaternal IndulgenceNicolas Delaunay — Maternal IndulgenceThe DirectorNicolas Joseph Voyez — The DirectorLe Pate d'Anguilles, from Contes et nouvelles en vers par Jean de La Fontaine. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de P. Didot, l'an III de la République, 1795Jean de La Fontaine|Jean Honoré Fragonard|Jean-Baptiste TillA Rake's Progress, Plate 3William Hogarth|Dr. John Hoadley — A Rake's Progress, Plate The Danger of the Private ConversationJean Baptiste Blaise Simonet — The Danger of the Private ConLe Faucon, from Contes et nouvelles en vers par Jean de La Fontaine. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de P. Didot, l'an III de la République, 1795Jean de La Fontaine|Jean Honoré Fragonard|Jean-Baptiste TillNight, plate four from Four Times of DayJan Saenredam — Night, plate four from Four Times of DayThe Innkeeper's Wife and Daughter Taking Care of ye Don after Being Beaten and Bruised (Six Illustrations for Don Quixote)William Hogarth|Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra — The Innkeeper