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Lot Essay
The present work, which would appear to date from the 1760s, shows the first arch of Westminster Bridge looking west towards Lambeth Palace, with the northern bank of the Thames to the right of the arch. Although there is a very similar view by Samuel Scott (recorded as being in the Harold Peake Collection, London, c.1960), it is an unusual aspect, most contemporary views of the bridge showing the Thames from the southern Surrey bank of the river.
Westminster Bridge, which was finally completed in November 1750 and was only the second masonry bridge to be built across the Thames, revolutionised the ease with which the river could br crossed. Until the completion of Fulham Bridge in 1729, the only pedestrian route across the river for twelve miles above London Bridge had been the bridge at Kingston-upon-Thames. By the 1730s the growth in the population of West London, which had outstripped that of the City of London, necessitated the construction of a new bridge, and in 1736 the House of Commons received a petition to this effect stating 'that the said City and Liberty hath for many years past greatly increased in Number of Buildings and Inhabitants and is now become very Populous; and that it will be advantageous...to have a Bridge...for their more convenient Communications...'.
That year a bill was passed entitled 'An act for building a bridge across the River Thames, from the New Place Yard in the City of Westminster to the opposite shore in the county of Surrey'. Construction began in 1739 under the supervision of the Swiss engineer, Charles Labelye (c.1705-c.1781), the appointment of a foreigner for a work of such national prestige causing considerable resentment among rival engineers and architects.
Westminster Bridge soon became a symbol of a new and improving city, and was the subject of many popular contemporary paintings, particularly in the works of Samuel Scott. Scott had established himself as the native specialist in London Thames views, and the arrival of Canaletto in London in 1746 gave fresh impetus to the demand for London views.
Westminster Bridge, which was finally completed in November 1750 and was only the second masonry bridge to be built across the Thames, revolutionised the ease with which the river could br crossed. Until the completion of Fulham Bridge in 1729, the only pedestrian route across the river for twelve miles above London Bridge had been the bridge at Kingston-upon-Thames. By the 1730s the growth in the population of West London, which had outstripped that of the City of London, necessitated the construction of a new bridge, and in 1736 the House of Commons received a petition to this effect stating 'that the said City and Liberty hath for many years past greatly increased in Number of Buildings and Inhabitants and is now become very Populous; and that it will be advantageous...to have a Bridge...for their more convenient Communications...'.
That year a bill was passed entitled 'An act for building a bridge across the River Thames, from the New Place Yard in the City of Westminster to the opposite shore in the county of Surrey'. Construction began in 1739 under the supervision of the Swiss engineer, Charles Labelye (c.1705-c.1781), the appointment of a foreigner for a work of such national prestige causing considerable resentment among rival engineers and architects.
Westminster Bridge soon became a symbol of a new and improving city, and was the subject of many popular contemporary paintings, particularly in the works of Samuel Scott. Scott had established himself as the native specialist in London Thames views, and the arrival of Canaletto in London in 1746 gave fresh impetus to the demand for London views.