An armed packet drifting along the Thames off Woolwich with Galleons Reach astern of her and the East India Dock and its masting house observed off her starboard bow

Robert Salmon was born in Whitehaven, the son of Francis Saloman, who was apparently a Whitehaven jeweller. Little is known about his early life until 1806 when he is recorded as living in Liverpool where he remained until he moved to Greenock, Scotland, in 1811. He returned to Liverpool from 1822-1826, was in Greenock in 1826, London in 1827 and finally emigrated to America arriving in Boston on New Year's Day, 1829.

Typically his ships' portraits were set against the backdrop of the Mersey or the Clyde, and Thames views such as this are rare, although there is an 1804 view of the East Indiaman Warley off Blackwell in the National Collection at Greenwich.

Even though this is an early example of Salmon's work, it bears many of the hallmarks of his unique, mature style. The ships are painted with precision and a clarity of tone suggesting an intimate and detailed knowledge of his subject matter. The quality of the small details such as the anchor, which is catted not stowed in preparation for her arrival at the anchorage, and the figure of the seaman clearly heading for the bowsprit to adjust the setting of the foresails, demonstrates Salmon's technical ability. It is the combination of this skill with the translucent glow of his palette that ensures Robert Salmon's place as one of the greatest marine artists of the 19th, or indeed any, century.