A Rake's Progress (or The Rake's Progress) is a series of eight paintings by 18th-century English artist William Hogarth.[1] The canvases were produced in 1732–1734, then engraved in 1734 and published in print form in 1735.[2] The series shows the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, the spendthrift son and heir of a rich merchant, who comes to London, wastes all his money on luxurious living, prostitution and gambling, and as a consequence is imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and ultimately Bethlem Hospital (Bedlam).[3] The original paintings are in the collection of Sir John Soane's Museum in London, where they are normally on display for a short period each day.
The filmmaker Alan Parker has described the works as an ancestor to the storyboard.[4]