James-Joseph-Jacques Tissot (1836-1902) arrived in London in the summer of 1871 and almost from the first he was drawn to the river Thames as a subject for his elegant paintings.
Perhaps the water and the associated sounds and sights of the bustling docks reminded him of his childhood in the seaport of Nantes, or maybe he realised that painting life at the edge of the river opened a wealth of subjects for him to explore and attract a new audience.