The Restoration of
Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress:
Help Us Make This Extraordinary Project A Success!
We invite you to join the Soane Foundation in a once-in-a-generation project: the conservation of William Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, a cornerstone of Sir John Soane’s Museum collection. An icon of English cultural history, this 18th-century series of eight paintings has hung in Soane’s Picture Room since 1824, inspiring generations of artists from Igor Stravinsky to David Hockney.
The restoration coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Picture Room, home to 118 works from Soane’s personal collection. Over the next three years, expert conservators will carefully assess and restore each painting in collaboration with the National Gallery in London and Factum Arte. Their work will not only preserve the integrity of the paintings but also help the Museum expand public access through digital content, educational programming, and new research.
With your support, the Soane Foundation can adopt one of the paintings and contribute directly to this important effort. Your generosity will help secure A Rake’s Progress for future generations and ensure that Hogarth’s powerful social satire continues to inspire audiences around the world.
Please consider making a donation today. Every gift brings us closer to our goal.
Impact and Outcomes
On completion of the restoration, the paintings will go back on display in their original positions within the Picture Room’s original moving planes in a climate-monitored environment.
The intended academic outcomes of this collaborative project between the Soane, the National Gallery, Factum Arte and the different individual conservators involved will include a public exhibition exploring the restoration project, a new illustrated book capturing the work and what it has revealed about Hogarth and his techniques, and a one-day academic symposium (IRL and online).
This project is a leading example of how good collaboration can strengthen a sense of community, potentially develop interesting innovative solutions, increase productivity and enhance efficiency.
The Museum is producing a documentary following the entire project as well as a series of twelve videos for social media that pick out key narrative points in the restoration process with award-winning BBC TV documentary maker Jonathan Crane. The film will include commentary from expert conservators but also highlight the Rake’s history, impact and influence with contributions from well-known figures including satirist and journalist Ian Hislop, Turner Prize-winning artist and curator Lubaina Himid and actress Dame Joanna Lumley. Expanding the documentary’s scope in this way reflects the Soane’s commitment to boost and widen audience engagement online.
The Museum has commissioned Factum Arte to not only create 3-D scans of the paintings but also a set of high-quality reproductions. These facsimiles will enable us to pilot a new education program.