One of Whistler's 'Series of Sixteen Etchings on the Thames', this is a view across the river in the Pool of London. In the foreground a river worker sits in a small rowing boat. This crowded scene of ships and lighters was typical of the many wharves and quays along the Thames. The work is signed and dated 'Whistler 1859', lower left.

Born in Massachusetts, Whistler was not strictly a marine painter, but he did produce many views of the Thames. The 'Series of Sixteen Etchings’ was published in 1871. He etched the plates for these prints after he moved to Wapping in 1859. He worked directly with his subjects and by doing so, succeeded in highlighting the existence of a working-class maritime community in the city of London.