Four Times of the Day Four Times of the Day Four Times of the Day is a series of four oil paintings by English artist William Hogarth. Completed in 1736, they were reproduced as a series of four engravings published in 1738. They are humorous depictions of life in the streets of London, the vagaries of fashion, and the interactions between the rich and poor. Unlike many of Hogarth's other series, such as "A Harlot's Progress", "A Rake's Progress", "Industry and Idleness", and "The Four Stages of Cruelty", it does not depict the story of an individual, but instead focuses on the society of the
Cowdray engravings was rendered as a watercolour by John and Charles Sherwin and then engraved by James Basire. Samuel Hieronymous Grimm copied the remaining four paintings which Basire then engraved. The engravings were published in 1788 with a print run of 400 copies, distributed to fellow of the society and sold to the public. Cowdray House burnt down on 24 September 1793 and the paintings were mostly destroyed as the rendering came away from the walls, although some fragments may have survived for a few years after the fire. This left the engravings as the only record. The historian Bernard Nurse considers