The Rake's Progress (ballet) The Rake's Progress (ballet) The Rake's Progress is a short 1935 ballet based on the drawings of William Hogarth, with music by Gavin Gordon (1901-1970), choreography by Ninette de Valois, and set design by Rex Whistler. Gavin Gordon had written some earlier ballets that were not successful. By contrast, "The Rake's Progress" was an instant hit and has remained in the repertoires of a number of ballet companies. It is the only work of Gavin Gordon's that is remembered today. Gordon based his scenario for the ballet on Hogarth's series of paintings called "A Rake's Progress". These paintings influenced him
Cowdray engravings of King Henry VIII at Marquison", "The Siege of Boulogne by King Henry VIII", "The Encampment of the English forces near Portsmouth" and "The riding of King Edward VI from the Tower of London to Westminster". Philip Yorke, the Earl of Hardwick and a keen antiquarian, proposed producing engravings of the paintings in the 1760s. His colleague, the antiquarian Sir Joseph Ayloffe, was spurred on by his interest and convinced the Society of Antiquaries to record them as engravings, as part of a longer series of historical prints produced by the society. The "Encampment of the English Forces near Portsmouth"