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Of Hogarth, Hockney and the Culture Minister... William Hogarth, the 18th century artist known as the father of English painting, lived the last 15 years of his life in Chiswick, in a house on the fringe of the Chiswick House Grounds. In those days, he doubtless had an uninterrupted view of country life, but today the house is hard up against the A4 to Heathrow. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Nicholas's, in Church Street. His
name is commemorated in various local institutions, such as the roundabout with
the thrilling over-pass, and the health club. Now there is to be a statue of him
on the corner of the High Street and Turnham Green Terrace, on that s A sum of £50,000 needs to be raised, so that Ealing based sculptor Jim Mathieson can proceed with the life-size bronze (the image on the right is taken from the model, or “maquette”). David Hockney has agreed to serve as patron of the Fund Raising committee, and Culture Minister Chris Smith attended the launch of the appeal in December where he accepted initial donations, including £11,000 from the Hogarth Health Club. (Mr Smith was quoted as describing Hogarth as "our greatest living artist", but we feel that between the good Minister and the sub-editors of the Brentford & Chiswick Times, the latter are more likely to have erred.) William
Hogarth’s engravings, portraits and cartoons cast a satirical eye
over the mores of the time. We have images of the full set of "The Rake's
Progress" - click here.) Chiswick could probably do with a modern Hogarth -
applications invited to editor@chiswickw4.com. The William Hogarth Millennium Appeal has its own website - click here. If you'd like to contribute to the fund, please contact the Chiswick Traders Association, c/o Radford Smith Independent Financial Advisers, 46 Chiswick High Road, W4 1SZ. The
sculptor: The
Committee: |
pot which
seems to have been under renovation for four years.