In 1736, William Hogarth painted The Four Times of the Day, a polyptych depicting four London scenes: Covent Garden on a winter morning, St Giles in spring at noon, Sadler’s Wells on a summer evening, and Whitehall at night on Oak Apple Day (29 May).
Upon the whole, though many other circumstances daily occur in the streets of the metropolis that might serve to distinguish the four parts of the day, yet these which Hogarth has selected appear to be the most striking, and evince him not only to be a proficient in his art, but also to possess a consummate knowledge of the town. — Thomas Clerk, The Works of William Hogarth (1810)
Below are photographic re-creations of The Four Times of the Day, taken between 2017 and 2025.
