John Wilkes, Esq.

John Wilkes, Esq. is a renowned etching and engraving created by William Hogarth in 1763. This powerful print, executed in the first state of two, is held in the expansive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work serves as a prime example of eighteenth-century political portraiture, focusing on the divisive figure of John Wilkes, a Member of Parliament, radical Whig journalist, and notorious libertine.

Hogarth, a Tory and staunch supporter of the crown, produced this image during a period of intense public turmoil following Wilkes’s arrest for seditious libel related to his publication, The North Briton, Issue 45. Hogarth famously sketched the subject, one of the most visible men in England, while he was detained in court, cementing the work's classification as a print of historical record. Using the technical precision inherent to etching and engraving, Hogarth created a devastating caricature rather than a mere portrait of the men of the era.

Wilkes is depicted with a noticeable squint, exaggerated leering grin, and wig pushed back, transforming his real physical attributes into satirical symbols of moral and political corruption. This work was not only a personal attack arising from a bitter rivalry between the artist and subject, but a potent visual weapon in the broader fight over press freedom and political expression. Despite its defamatory intent, Wilkes smartly adopted the unflattering image as a symbol of his own political martyrdom, ensuring that Hogarth’s prints became instantly iconic. This piece remains one of Hogarth’s most significant social documents. Today, high-resolution images of this pivotal work are often distributed through public domain initiatives, ensuring the accessibility of this crucial piece of political history.