The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Sufferers from the Floods

Sufferers from the Floods

1877
(Scottish, 1837–1921)
Image: 11.5 x 9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.); Paper: 11.5 x 9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 9/16 in.); Mounted: 27 x 20.7 cm (10 5/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Annual tidal overflow of the Thames River flooded less prosperous areas of London, leaving behind “a trail of misery . . . and a damp, noxious, fever-breeding atmosphere.”

Description

Smith and Thomson decided to photograph the once-prosperous Rowletts in front of the rag shop that they owned and lived in to show that the floods caused long-term financial losses and health problems that drove even the middle class into poverty. The woman with the baby lived in the house next door; her entire family suffered constant colds and rheumatism from the persistent dampness.
  • (Antiquariat Dr. Jens Mattow, Berlin, Germany)
    March 4, 2019
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Sufferers from the Floods|url=false|author=John Thomson|year=1877|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.52