A view down the Thames showing Hungerford Bridge, Westminster Bridge, and Lambeth Suspension Bridge. Cleopatra’s Needle dominates the Embankment on the right of the image. Across the Embankment trees are interspersed along the shoreline, and trams and people walking along the Thames path provide a different view of Wyllie’s London. Between Lambeth Bridge and Westminster Bridge, London County Hall is visible on the left. Signed by artist.

Cleopatra’s Needle was installed in London in 1878. The obelisk was made in Egypt for the Pharaoh Tuthmosis III around 1450 BC. It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819, and Sir William James Erasmus Wilson sponsored its transportation to the UK in 1877. Lambeth Suspension Bridge was in operation from 1862 to 1910, and replaced between 1924 and 1932.

See PAF0735 and PAE2075 for a different view of Cleopatra’s Needle.

W. L. Wyllie (1851-1931) was a British Marine artist. Born in London, Wyllie painted, drew, and etched Thames scenes throughout his life. He moved to Portsmouth in 1907, where he continued working, supported the restoration of the Victory and painted the Trafalgar Panorama. Early in his career Wyllie was an illustrator for The Graphic, and he became a member of the Royal Academy in 1907.