During the First World War, John Everett was at first unable to sketch outdoors due to wartime security regulations, but in the spring of 1918, the Ministry of Information asked him to depict London river scenes. Everett received a permit to draw, and that summer, spent every day at the docks.
What attracted him most were the ships covered in ‘dazzle painting’. Dazzle was a type of camouflage developed by the artist Norman Wilkinson in 1917, in response to the heavy losses sustained by British merchant ships to German U-boat submarines. Everett’s dazzle pictures are among his most daring works for their sense of composition and modernity. They were first displayed at the Goupil Gallery in London in November 1918.

With its strong lines, contrasting block colours, and the mirroring composition of the ships’ reflection in calm water, this is one of Everett’s most abstract dock scenes. The height and modern lines of the larger cargo vessel ship are emphasized by the vertical stripes of the dazzle camouflage. The ships were regularly repainted with new patterns to prevent the enemy from easily recognizing specific vessels