How We Lost America: Exhibition at Hogarth's House

Displays consider the artist's influence on the Revolutionary War

Picture taken at Benjamin Franklin House © Lucinda MacPherson

August 15, 2026

Hogarth’s House will mark the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence with a new exhibition exploring how the birth of the United States was viewed from Britain. How We Lost America, opening on Tuesday 22 September, offers a striking re-examination of the Revolutionary era through satire, newspapers, personal letters and the visual culture that shaped public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic.

The display brings together a series of banners inspired by eighteenth-century print culture, revealing how ideas of liberty and equality were debated, distorted and deployed during the turbulent years leading up to independence. Alongside familiar political figures, the exhibition highlights lesser-known stories of female revolutionaries and enslaved soldiers whose experiences complicate the traditional narrative of the Revolution.

Although William Hogarth died more than a decade before the Declaration of Independence and never travelled to America, recent academic research shows that his influence was felt keenly during the Revolutionary War. London newspapers and engraved prints were regularly shipped across the Atlantic, and Hogarth’s satirical works became part of the visual language through which British-American merchants, statesmen and artists interpreted the political crisis. His prints circulated in coffeehouses and print shops where revolutionary ideas were discussed, and they helped shape the imagery later used by American artists depicting Patriot leaders.

One of the most intriguing connections explored in the exhibition is Hogarth’s notorious portrait of John Wilkes, the radical journalist whose outspoken criticism of government made him a hero to the colonists. Hogarth’s caricature was intended as an attack, yet it inadvertently strengthened Wilkes’s reputation as a champion of liberty. American supporters saw the image as proof of his courage in confronting monarchical power, turning Hogarth’s satire into a symbol of resistance.

Front Cover of How We Lost America and portrait of John Wilkes at Hogarth's House. © Lucinda MacPherson

How We Lost America runs at Hogarth’s House from 22 September to 1 November, accompanied by a programme of talks by historians and a book launch.

After its Chiswick debut, the exhibition will tour to Boston Manor House in Brentford during November and December.

Hogarth’s House is located on Hogarth Lane, Great West Road, W4 2QN.