William Sherlock

With Lazard Brothers & Co. Ltd., London (according to an undated mount at the Witt Library);
With Thomas Agnew and Sons Ltd., London (according to a label on the reverse);
Anonymous sale, London, Bonhams, 13 September 2005, lot 194;
Where acquired by the present owner.

The canvas has an old relining, the paint surface is relatively clean with a small horizontal black scuff mark measuring 1 cm. upper left (visible in the catalogue illustration), and the varnish is discoloured. There are some very small discoloured retouchings visible to the naked eye along the lower margin, but otherwise inspection under ultraviolet light reveals apparently very little intervention beneath the thick varnish. There may possibly be some retouching in the sky upper right and scattered through the central part of the sky. In overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The picturesque Old London Bridge, immortalised in the well-known seventeenth century nursery rhyme, lasted for over six hundred years thanks to endless maintenance, repairs and structural improvements, the last of which were carried out in 1758-62 when the fragile houses which had stood upon it for centuries were finally demolished. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars however, the old bridge could no longer handle the volume of traffic required and, more importantly, its numerous small narrow arches were inhibiting lighters and the larger river craft from getting upstream.

After much public discussion a new bridge, slightly upstream from the original, was begun in 1823 and eventually opened by King William IV in 1831, at which point the much-loved former structure was finally demolished. In this classic view of the old bridge, the artist shows merchantmen tied up alongside the wharves on both banks of the river and also small boats below it, perhaps making ready to ‘shoot’ the treacherous current which swept through it. Above the scene, the ancient church of St. Magnus the Martyr stands guard at the bridge’s northern end whilst beyond that rises Sir Christopher Wren’s instantly recognisable ‘Monument’ to London’s Great Fire of 1666.