• Object type: Painting
• Formal Title: Marriage a la mode - The Marriage Contract
• Creator: William Hogarth
• Date Created: 1743-1745
• Origin: London, England
• Current Location: National Gallery, London, England

Th full set of Marriage a la mode paintings reached six and were meant to be exhibited left to right - this is the first of the six.

The series show the stages of a marriage arranged for money, a common event amongst the wealthy in England circa 1740.

In this painting, Hogarth shows the daughter of a rich merchant "sold" for dowry cash to a bankrupt the artists calls the Earl of Squanderfield, who offers his son.

In this scene, the woman sits down and listens in, despondent, as the marriage contact is negotiated at the table to the right.

Next to the bride, according to Hogarth, is a lawyer named Silvertongue who tried to console her.

In the later prints of the series (The Death of the Earl), the bride commits adultery with the lawyer Silvertongue, who fatally shoots the new husband and then escapes. But he is captured and is hanged, so the Countess commits suicide (shown in the last of the set, entitled The Lady's Death).

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