The View from Panton House

This aerial view was commissioned by Alfred Cohen's solicitor, Roy Friedman, who had an office in Panton House on the Haymarket, from where the artist observed the view in situ, from the firm's waiting room (two preliminary sketches show similar views). The painting employs the elevated perspective of many of Cohen's London pictures of this period, with Nelson’s Column visible in the distance, looking towards the river Thames. The Thames inspired a series of robustly handled, boldly coloured riverscapes, mainly favouring a red and blue palette, between 1960 and 1963. However, this work painted in the middle of this series, employs a more subdued palette that harks back to the interiors of Cohen's Parisian atelier prior to his move to London.