Fleet Street and Temple Bar

Fleet Street and Temple Bar, painted in the early eighteenth century, records the ancient gateway that marked the western boundary of the City of London where Fleet Street met the Strand. Temple Bar, a Portland stone arch designed by Christopher Wren in 1672, was removed in 1878 due to traffic congestion, making Scott's early view a valuable record of this lost London landmark. Samuel Scott occupied the commanding position in British marine and topographical painting for three decades, filling the gap left by the death of the van de Veldes and not finally superseded until the emergence of Nicholas Pocock and J.M.W. Turner.

The street scene is rendered with topographical precision, the arch of Temple Bar framing the view along Fleet Street with careful attention to the surrounding shopfronts and St Dunstan-in-the-West. Figures and carriages animate the busy thoroughfare.