Claude Monet made several trips to London between 1899 and 1905. Returning to the principle of the series – portraying the same subject at different times of day and under different light, an idea he began exploring in 1893 with his work on Haystacks. Monet later experimented the idea further using the facade of the Rouen cathedral as a motif – he created six paintings inspired by the commanding view of the Thames from his room at the Savoy Hotel, including this work. 

In the foreground, Charing Cross railway bridge can be discerned through the thick London fog, with a plume of smoke indicating a passing train. In the background, the almost ghostly silhouette of the British Parliament emerges from the haze. At the beginning of the 20th century, the study of light and atmospheric nuances was becoming more and more central to Monet's work. In London, he paid particular attention to portraying the fog and the effects created when the sunlight shone through it. This is conveyed here with an exceptionally rich colour palette, a diverse and sometimes quite daring range of tones appearing under his brush.
 

This series from London was exhibited in 1904 at the Durand-Ruel gallery in Paris and soon won the critics' approval.