The Thames with the York Buildings Water Tower

The Thames with the York Buildings Water Tower depicts one of the most distinctive landmarks on the eighteenth-century London waterfront. The water tower, built in the 1690s to supply piped water to the Strand area, was a prominent feature of the skyline until its demolition in the nineteenth century, and Scott's view preserves its relationship to the surrounding riverside buildings. Scott's Thames views constitute the most comprehensive pictorial survey of London's riverside ever undertaken by a single artist.

The water tower provides a vertical accent in the horizontal panorama of the Thames, with Scott rendering both the industrial structure and the adjacent domestic architecture with equal topographical care.