Time Smoking a Picture

William Hogarth

Time Smoking a Picture

London, J & J. Boydell c. 1806

Copper engraving and mezzotint

240x185mm

£240

From the collection of George Morant, (1770 – 1846) of 95 Wimpole St, London. A very fine set on mostly uncut sheets kept loose in a folio. Carefully printed and in very good condition.

Morant was a collector and Founder of a business of paper hangers, carvers, gilders and picture frame makers.

The company had offices at 88 Old Bond St,  from 1814, and was appointed as ‘house decorator, carver, gilder & picture-frame-maker to His Majesty’. From 1832 he was appointed again by Her majesty Queen Victoria

The winged figure of Father Time sits on the kouros of a (fake) Greek statue smoking a long clay pipe at the wet varnish of a large ‘dark’ painting, similar to a Claud le Lorrain landscape. Time’s scythe pierces the canvas and to the left of the easel is large jar of Varnish. Smoking at a picture was a common method employed by forgers to artificially age the painting. It was Hogarth’s favourite complaint that the public seemed to prefer to buy these fake old masters rather than patronise contemporary British artists like himself. Paulson 208 III/III.