The Thames at Horseferry, with Lambeth Palace and a Distant View of the City

This painting is a version after the Dutch painter Jan Griffier the Elder. It focuses on the activities on the river at Horseferry on May Day. A coach and pair are being punted across the Thames while three naked youths bathe from a nearby punt. At the left foreground is Millbank Terrace, with a May Day procession in mid-flow. A milkmaid with the traditional garland of pots and pans, and three other figures are depicted dancing outside the tavern to the music of fiddle and hurdy-gurdy. A royal bargeman and a Thames waterman, both in uniform, are smoking and drinking on a bench. Directly beyond are Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Tower. In the background on the right, the City waterfront and Lambeth Palace can be seen.

Jan Griffier the Elder was born in Amsterdam and, according to the engraver and antiquary George Vertue, came to London soon after the Great Fire of 1666. Griffer became a Painter-Stainer in 1677 and, although he is known to have returned to Holland, he died in London.