John Wilkes Esq.

During and after the Seven Years’ War (which ended in 1763), taxes imposed to recoup wartime expenses fueled growing anti-British sentiment, especially in the American colonies. William Hogarth’s well-known satirical portrait of John Wilkes reflects this turbulent political climate, depicting Wilkes with horn-like protrusions on his wig, a cross-eyed squint, and a lascivious leer. His open-legged posture and the suggestive placement of his hand on the staff bearing the liberty cap further contribute to the mocking, caricatured portrayal. Through these visual cues, Hogarth presents Wilkes as evil, foolish, and licentious.

Prominently featured in the portrait are issues 17 and 45 of The North Briton, Wilkes’s radical political newspaper, placed near his elbow. Issue 17 contained a direct attack on Hogarth himself, criticizing his support for British government policies during the war, particularly as expressed in his allegorical print The Times, Plate I. More notably, issue 45 leveled a scathing critique of the king and the British government’s peace settlement with France at the war’s conclusion. This publication led to Wilkes’s arrest under a general warrant—a legally dubious act that sparked a landmark legal battle. Wilkes’s eventual victory against what many saw as unconstitutional authority earned him widespread popular support, including from American colonists who were increasingly disillusioned by British taxation and the continued presence of British troops in North America.