Art walks: printmaking in 18th century London

By the middle of the 18th century London seemed like the centre of the cultural universe. The city was the largest in the Western world, alive with the energy of 700,000 people from around the globe. As the era’s most popular art form printmaking documented and satirised the era’s important people, events and ideas. This walk will take us from St Giles through Covent Garden to St Paul’s Cathedral, stopping at historical sites depicted in popular prints, the shops that made their fortunes in the print trade and the coffee shops and pubs where artists met to stimulate their creativity. During the course we will discuss the work of artists like William Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson and Isaac Cruikshank to uncover printmaking’s integral role in the formation of London’s ‘Golden Age’.