The Columbia Market, London, by Moonlight

This work was stolen in 1988. The Columbia Market, Bethnal Green, was described by Pevsner as one of the great follies of the Victorian age. It was built by the celebrated Victorian philanthropist Baroness Burdett-Coutts between 1864 and 1869. The architect was Henry Darbishire. It was never a commercial success, and was eventually demolished between 1958 and 1966. John M. Anderson was an architect as well as a painter, and exhibited several views of buildings at the Royal Academy. This dramatic view of Columbia Market by moonlight suggests that he knew the work of Atkinson Grimshaw and Henry Pether, both of whom were fascinated by the mystery of the Victorian city at night.