Monet's Thames series was begun in the autumn of 1899 and the winter of 1900-01, from a fifth floor balcony of the Savoy Hotel, and completed from memory at Giverny in 1902-04. This is the view upstream, of Charing Cross Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. Monet later recalled: 'I love London... only in winter... without its fogs London would not be a beautiful city.' This work was purchased by Margaret Davies in 1913.