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The Albert Bridge is an iconic London landmark which opened in 1873, linking Battersea and Chelsea. Nicknamed ‘the Trembling Lady’ due to its lightweight construction, it has suffered many threats to its continued existence, most notably in 1957 when a network of large ‘improved’ roads were seen as the way forward for London. Albert and the Mudlarks contrasts the romantic, ethereal bridge with those children of the 19th century who made a living on the foreshore of the Thames salvaging whatever they could to live. Nowadays, contemporary mudlarkers may be spotted on the foreshore at low tide trying their luck.
Albert and the Mudlarks is a colour engraving from an edition of 40, and was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 2019.
Chris Orr RA has been a lifelong Thames fanatic. His grandfather was a clerk working for the Port of London Authority and he has a very early memory in the 1950's of boat trips down the working river. As a young artist he had a riverside studio in a Wapping Warehouse and he now lives and works just by the Albert Bridge. Drawings and prints with the Thames as subject are made alongside his provocative social commentary which he likes to call “The Domestic Fantastic”. His works take in the panorama of London’s changing scene and then into the boardrooms, bars and living rooms of the metropolis.