E. M. Wards

E. M. Ward was the kind of artist who kept a tiny studio above a London chandler’s shop, painting by candlelight after the day’s work ended. He spent years on a single painting, *The Southwark Docks at Night* (1841), because he wanted the smoke from the chimneys to feel just right—soot, steam, and all. Try finding that glow in a quiet corner of Tate Britain; it’s the one where the gaslight catches the water like scattered silver.