BRITISH SCHOOL
Circa 1835

A Pair of Waterways

"The Pool of London and the Custom House Quay: Looking West Toward London Bridge"
"The Pool of London: Looking East"

Unsigned, oil on canvas

[canvas] 18" H x 24" W
[frame] 20 1/2" H x 26 1/2" W

Provenance: Christie's, New York, 23-24 April 2013, A Palladian Villa By Michael S. Smith, lot 392, achieved 10,000 USD; there acquired for a Private Collection

A fine historical record of the Thames during the first half of the nineteenth century, the two paintings appear to have been conceived from approximately the same position on the river, the artist turning from west to east to record the Pool of London in both directions. The western view looks toward the New London Bridge, opened in 1831, with the rebuilt river facade of the Custom House by Sir Robert Smirke prominent along the quay.

The eastern view records the dense commercial traffic of the Pool, including a steam powered ballast dredger at the left, closely related in type to that shown in Clarkson Stanfield's 1827 Ballast Dredger, off the Tower in the London Museum (object ID A14394/1). The vessels, working river traffic and industrial apparatus give the pair particular value as a record of the Thames during a period of rapid change.

A watercolor of The Custom House by G. Aitchison, dated 1841 and preserved in the London Museum (object ID 81.37), records a substantial high timber jetty projecting from the quay with steps descending toward the water. That structure does not appear in the present western view. Together with the New London Bridge, already completed by 1831, the architectural evidence suggests a date within the 1830s and we reason it is most reasonably dated circa 1835.

Beyond their topographical interest, the paintings preserve a particularly immediate impression of the extraordinary density of shipping on the Thames and of the changing architectural character of London along its riverfront. A very fine historical record of the city.

Condition:
View East: Light cracquelure throughout. Bottom edge with trace overcleaning, rubbing and inpainting from frame wear. Extreme edges with old inpaint. Trace grime beneath later layers of varnish. Presents well in an old but not original frame with minor chips and gilt loss.
View West: Old relining of the canvas. Light craquelure throughout. All edges with inpainting from frame rub. Lower edge more notably restored beyond the frame edge into the water, visible under ultraviolet light and to the unaided eye. Trace grime and discolored lower layers of varnish remain under later varnish. Presents well in an old but not original frame with minor chips and gilt loss.

ref. 601QDG28E