A Rake's Progress, 3: The Tavern Scene A Rake's Progress, 3: The Tavern Scene Tavern Scene or "The Orgy" is a work by William Hogarth from 1735, the third picture from the series "A Rake's Progress". "A Rake's Progress" totals eight oil paintings from 1732-33. They were published as engravings from 1734. The series depicts the fictional Tom Rakewell's decline and fall. He was the free spending son and heir of a rich merchant. In the story, he comes to London, wasting his money on luxurious life, buying the services of prostitutes and gambling. He ends up in Fleet Prison, and finally at the Bethlem Hospital, or
William Hogarth from prostitutes, and gambling – the character's life ultimately ends in Bethlem Royal Hospital. The original paintings of "A Harlot's Progress" were destroyed in the fire at Fonthill House in 1755; the oil paintings of "A Rake's Progress" (1733–34) are displayed in the gallery room at Sir John Soane's Museum, London, UK. When the success of "A Harlot's Progress" and "A Rake's Progress" resulted in numerous pirated reproductions by unscrupulous printsellers, Hogarth lobbied in parliament for greater legal control over the reproduction of his and other artists' work. The result was the Engravers’ Copyright Act (known as ‘Hogarth's Act’), which