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
John Martin (painter) tremendous successes with their audiences, but wounded Martin's reputation in the serious art world. The painting "The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah", 1852 is currently at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition to being a painter, John Martin was a major mezzotint engraver and for significant periods of his life he earned more from his engravings than his paintings. In 1823, Martin was commissioned by Samuel Prowett to illustrate John Milton's "Paradise Lost", for which he was paid 2000 guineas. Before the first 24 engravings were completed he was paid a further 1500 guineas for a