The Thames at Lambeth
1914
Lucien Pissarro was the eldest son of the pioneering Impressionist Camille Pissarro. Lucien first visited England as a child and settled there permanently in the 1890s. Trained by his father but influenced by the Neo-Impressionism of younger artists such as Georges Seurat, Pissarro played an important role in disseminating these modern styles within the English art scene.
In this painting of the Houses of Parliament along the Thames River, we sense the diffuse quality of English light and observe solid shapes and crisper lines than in classic Impressionism. Pissarro himself was not satisfied with this urban vista, and afterward focused mainly on images of the countryside.
Oil on canvas
21 1/4 x 25 3/4 in. (54 x 65.4 cm)
Norman and Amelia Davis Collection
57.130
Provenance: Charles Rutherston, purchased June 1914, later returned; Dr. MacNish, purchased May 1924; [Redfern Gallery, London, 1956]; Dr. Norman Davis, Seattle, purchased 1956; gift from Mr. Davis to Seattle Art Museum, 1957