Clifton Hill and surrounds from Studley Park

Capturing the view across Abbotsford, looking north-west from Studley Park, the artist has placed a grazing cow in the right foreground and a fallen tree in the left foreground, providing a contrast between the pastoral parkland and the crowded suburbs in the distance. The viewpoint is taken from above the Convent of the Good Shepherd, now the site of the Collingwood Children's Farm, with the Johnston Street bridge visible in the centre of the picture.

Beyond are the factories of the inner northern suburbs, where many noxious trades such as fellmongering, tanning and woolwashing operated. The spires of St John's in Clifton Hill and the newly completed Ormond College at the University of Melbourne can be seen on the horizon. Between them sits the Metropolitan Gas Company's gasometer at the corner of Smith Street and Alexandra Parade.