This 1911 painting by Spencer Frederick Gore looks out from the first
floor of 31 Mornington Crescent where the artist lived. The view is
north-east across Crescent Gardens towards Mornington Crescent tube
station. The junction with Camden High Street is visible, as are the
liver-red tiles of the station. Gore painted this scene many times,
looking at it from all directions and in varied weather conditions.
Favourite with artists
Gore rented a room at No. 31 from 1909-12. The cheap rented accommodation
on Mornington Crescent made it popular with artists. Fellow Impressionist
painter Walter Sickert lived at No. 36 and caricaturist George Cruikshank
lived in nearby Mornington Place.
The gardens disappear
During the 1920s, the Crescent Gardens were destroyed. They made way for
the newly built Carreras factory (better known as the Black Cat Cigarette
Factory). The new building transformed the appearance of the
neighbourhood.
