The Thames at Lambeth

The Thames at Lambeth, painted in 1760, depicts the south bank area directly across the river from Westminster that was still largely undeveloped marshland and market gardens in the eighteenth century. The contrast between the grand buildings of Westminster on the north bank and the low-lying Lambeth shore was a compositional theme Scott exploited in numerous Thames views. Scott's Thames views constitute the most comprehensive pictorial survey of London's riverside ever undertaken by a single artist.

The river panorama balances the open Lambeth foreshore against the more built-up Westminster bank, with river traffic providing the connecting element between the two contrasting shores.