From pickle-herring stairs

Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903 · [1875–1877]

Seen at the right, on a broad reach of the Thames, there is a group of fishing smacks with furled sails, lying near a long low warehouse. At the left, in front, are two rowboats, beyond are two barges, and near the second barge is a rowboat in which are two men. Farther away, a steamer is moored at a quay upon which stands a row of high buildings. In the distance is a confusion of shipping, under a clouded sky. The butterfly, shaded, is near the right lower corner. At the right, the short, horizontal lines which run toward the left from the high topmast, and some of the short slanting lines between the other masts, have been removed.