A Panoramic View of London, from the Tower of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster
# A Panoramic View of London, from the Tower of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster

A Panoramic View of London, from the Tower of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster is a painting made in 1815 by Pierre Prévost, acquired by the Museum of London in July 2018. It is particularly significant for its depiction of the pre-1834 Palace of Westminster.

## Creation

The work uses watercolour and bodycolour over pencil, on paper, which has been mounted on canvass. It is 605 centimetres (19.85 ft) long. It is a sketch for a larger work, now lost, which was displayed as a visitor attraction in Paris. That work was 30 metres (98 ft) long (or in diameter; sources vary).

## Depictions

Prévost painted the view from the tower of St. Margaret's, including (from left to right):

* Westminster Abbey (part)
* Guildhall
* Whitehall
* St Martin-in-the-Fields
* St James's Park
* Banqueting House
* River Thames
* Waterloo Bridge (under construction)
* St Paul's Cathedral
* Westminster Bridge
* Palace of Westminster
* Westminster Abbey

This was before the 1834 fire which destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster; and the Palace's subsequent rebuilding.

## Provenance

On 4 July 2018, the painting was auctioned at Sotheby's in London, after being re-found in the south of France. It was purchased for £250,000 by the Museum of London, with partial funding by the Art Fund.

