The Industrious 'Prentice Grown Rich and Sheriff of London: Industry and Idleness, plate 8

The Industrious 'Prentice Grown Rich and Sheriff of London: Industry and Idleness, plate 8 by William Hogarth, created in 1747, is a detailed example of eighteenth-century British printmaking. Executed using etching and engraving, this state of the print is the first of two and serves as the penultimate installment in Hogarth’s famed moralizing series, Industry and Idleness. This sequence vividly illustrates the contrasting paths of two apprentices: Francis Goodchild, who rises through hard work, and Thomas Idle, who descends into crime.

In this celebratory scene, Francis Goodchild has achieved the height of civic success, having been elected Sheriff of London. The setting is a grand interior, bustling with a significant crowd gathered to witness and participate in the official dining event honoring his new appointment. Hogarth uses the complexity of the composition, particularly the organized chaos and the detailed depiction of the banquet, to satirize or celebrate the prosperity available to the ambitious middle class in Georgian England. The lavish feast and the display of wealth underscore the material rewards promised by industry, contrasting sharply with the destitution depicted elsewhere in the series.

As a master of narrative prints, Hogarth ensured that these easily reproducible images offered social commentary accessible to a broad public. This particular impression of the etching and engraving resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. Due to its historical importance, this work is often studied as a key cultural artifact from the period, and high-quality versions of these historical prints are frequently made available through public domain resources globally.