The Thames at the Savoy

The Thames at the Savoy records the riverside near the ancient Savoy Palace, whose site between the Strand and the Thames had been occupied since the thirteenth century. By Scott's time, the area included the Savoy Chapel and various riverside buildings that would eventually be demolished for the construction of Waterloo Bridge and the Victoria Embankment. Scott's early Thames views, painted before Canaletto arrived in London in 1746, established him as the heir to the van de Velde tradition in English painting.

The intimate riverside view focuses on the architectural character of the Savoy waterfront, with Scott's precise rendering of both buildings and river craft creating a detailed record of a now-vanished stretch of Thames frontage.