Humours of an Election Humours of an Election The Humours of an Election is a series of four oil paintings and later engravings by William Hogarth that illustrate the election of a member of parliament in Oxfordshire in 1754. The oil paintings were created in 1755. The first three paintings, "An Election Entertainment", "Canvassing for Votes" and "The Polling", demonstrate the corruption endemic in parliamentary elections in the 18th century, before the Great Reform Act. The last painting, "Chairing the Member", shows the celebrations of the victorious Tory candidates and their supporters. At this time each constituency elected two MPs, and there was a
Richard Phillips (English painter) Richard Phillips (English painter) Richard Phillips or Philips (1681–1741) was a British portrait painter. Phillips was born in London. His portrait of Edmond Halley (1656-1742) hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, and his portrait of William Lowndes (1652-1724) hangs in the Bank of England. He also painted John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston (1616-1698), Elizabeth Cromwell (1650-1731) Oliver Cromwell’s granddaughter (the daughter of Richard Cromwell and Dorothy Mayor), and Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham (1682-1723)). Mezzotints and engravings after him of Daniel Waterland (1683-1740), Bishop Thomas Wilson (1663-1755), and Mrs Mary Anne Granville are also in the National Portrait