Westminster Bridge, or Westminster Clock Tower

Art Historical Context

Félix-Hilaire Buhot’s *Westminster Bridge, or Westminster Clock Tower* captures a quintessential London vista during the height of the Victorian era. Created between 1860 and 1898, the print reflects the artist’s fascination with urban atmospheres and modern city life. A French printmaker active during the Impressionist period, Buhot frequently traveled to England and translated its fog-shrouded riverscapes into evocative works on paper. The image was produced through an unusually rich combination of etching, drypoint, aquatint, and roulette. These layered techniques allowed Buhot to achieve delicate tonal gradations and textured surfaces that convey the play of light on water and stone. This impression represents the seventh of eight states, revealing the artist’s meticulous process of refining details and atmospheric effects across multiple revisions. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1921 as a gift from David Keppel, the print exemplifies Buhot’s experimental approach to printmaking. Its modest plate size belies the depth of mood and observation the artist achieved, inviting viewers to appreciate both the landmark subject and the technical sophistication of late-nineteenth-century graphic art.

About the Artist

Félix-Hilaire Buhot · 1847–1898

Félix-Hilaire Buhot was born on July 9, 1847, in Valognes, a small town in Normandy, France, into a modest family—his father a wine merchant and his mother a seller of women's clothes. Orphaned by age seven after losing both parents and his maternal grandmother, he was raised by relatives, including a godfather, and received an early introduction to drawing from his adopted mother's nephew. In 186...