Research is a fascinating part of my job as director of the Pageant. This year for our theme “The Art Detective” we have many mysteries to solve including what bridge crosses the Thames in this painting called “Alone in London”? There are a few clues. See if you can solve the mystery of the bridge.
[sws_toggle2 title=”Click Here to See the Answer”]I think the mystery of the bridge is solved. I originally thought the woman is looking to the west. My English cousin says she is looking east from the embankment on the north side of the Thames. (See St.Paul’s Cathedral in the distance.) The painting was done in 1904, before many of the Thames bridges were re-built. The Waterloo Bridge was originally called the Strand bridge. Waterloo bridge was legendary and in victorian times widely considered a suitable location for a suicide. Many destitute and unfortunate women leapt to their deaths.
