Beer Street

Artist William Hogarth (English, 1697 - 1764)

Date1751, printed later

MediumEtching and engraving

DimensionsPlatemark: 15 3/8 x 13 in. (39.1 x 33 cm) Sheet: 25 9/16 x 18 11/16 in. (65 x 47.5 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Robert Getscher from the Getscher-Wilkinson Collection

CultureBritish

Catalogue raisonnéPaulson iii/iii

Object numberPC2014.14.277

ClassificationsPrint Collection

DescriptionRevelers on the street drink beer responsibly from tankards. An artist on a ladder paints a sign entitled "Health to the Barely Mow." Across the street, construction workers take a break from their labor on the roof of a newly constructed building, raising their hats in a toast to one another. In the text below the image, Hogarth has included verses by Rev. James Townley:
Beer, happy Produce of our Isle / Can sinewy Strength impart, / And wearied with Fatigue and Toil / Can cheer each manly Heart. / Labour and Art upheld by Thee / Successfully advance, / We quaff Thy balmy Juice with Glee / And Water leave to France. / Genius of Health, thy grateful Taste / Rivals the Cup of Jove, / And warms each English generous Breast / With Liberty and Love!
This is a satirical print meant to be viewed with its inverse, "Gin Lane," also in the collection: PC2014.14.276

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