A view looking west towards the Upper Pool and Tower Bridge, with the dome of St Paul's Cathedral visible in between the towers of the bridge. The bascules of Tower Bridge are raised to allow shipping to pass. In the right foreground, a number of lighters are manoeuvred by lightermen with sweeps. Beyond them, several cargo ships are moored at Irongate Wharf, the major London base for the General Steam Navigation Company. The work is signed 'W L Wyllie', lower right.

Wyllie spent several years as a young man living on a boat on the Thames, which he converted into a floating studio. Tower Bridge was not long completed when Wyllie finished this watercolour, but it quickly became one of his favourite subjects. In 1894 he and his wife had been present at the bridge’s opening. He painted a large picture of the event (now in the Guildhall Art Gallery) and through this he became friendly with the bridge’s architect, Sir John Wolfe-Barry.