In the fall of 1899 and the early months of 1900 and of 1901, Monet executed a series of views of the Thames River in London. From his room at the Savoy Hotel, he painted Waterloo Bridge to the east, and Charing Cross Bridge to the west; beginning in February 1900, he set up his easel on a terrace at Saint Thomas's Hospital across the river, reserving time in the late afternoon to depict the Houses of Parliament.

While in London, Monet produced nearly a hundred canvases, reportedly moving from one to another as the light changed. He continued to work on these paintings in his studio at Giverny. In May 1904, thirty-seven were exhibited at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris, including this view of the Houses of Parliament cloaked in dense fog.

Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): Claude Monet 1903

[Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1909–11, bought from the artist in July 1909; sold on March 24, 1911 to Durand-Ruel]; [Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1911; stock no. 9549; sold on April 1 to Durand-Ruel, New York]; [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1911; stock no. 3438; sold on May 24 to Emmons]; Arthur B. Emmons, New York and Newport (1911–d. 1922); his widow, Julia W. Emmons, New York and Newport (1922–d. 1956)

Paris. Durand-Ruel. "Vues de la Tamise à Londres (1902–1904)," May 9–June 4, 1904, no. 32 (as "Effet de brouillard 1904" [under the general heading "Le Parlement"]).

St. Louis. Noonan-Kocian Gallery. 1911, no catalogue? [see Ref. Wildenstein 1985].

Milwaukee Art Center. "Man's Concept of Outer Space," October 1, 1958–February 15, 1959, no catalogue.

Phoenix Art Museum. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art Loan Collection: 'The River and the Sea'," February 15, 1967–February 15, 1968, no. 14.

Holyoke, Mass. Holyoke Museum of Natural History and Art. "Claude Monet," April–May 1968, no catalogue.

London. Hayward Gallery. "The Impressionists in London," January 3–March 11, 1973, no. 25.

Naples. Museo di Capodimonte. "Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani," December 3, 1986–February 1, 1987, no. 33.

Milan. Pinacoteca di Brera. "Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani," March 4–May 10, 1987, no. 33.

Fort Lauderdale. Museum of Art. "Corot to Cézanne: 19th Century French Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 22, 1992–April 11, 1993, no catalogue.

Vienna. Österreichische Galerie. "Claude Monet," March 14–June 16, 1996, no. 76.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Painters in Paris: 1895–1950," March 8–December 31, 2000, unnumbered cat. (as "The Houses of Parliament Seen in Fog").

Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum. "Claude Monet: A Hymn to Light," August 3–September 23, 2004, no. 43.

Nara Prefectural Museum of Art. "Claude Monet: A Hymn to Light," October 2–December 5, 2004, no. 43.

St. Petersburg, Fla. Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Fla.. "Monet's London: Artists' Reflections on the Thames 1859–1914," January 16–April 24, 2005, no. 36.

Brooklyn Museum. "Monet's London: Artists' Reflections on the Thames 1859–1914," May 27–September 4, 2005, no. 36.

Baltimore Museum of Art. "Monet's London: Artists' Reflections on the Thames 1859–1914," October 2–December 31, 2005, no. 36.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 93.

Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19.Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.

Claude Monet. Letter to Monsieur Durand. April 28, 1904 [published in L. Venturi, "Les archives de l'impressionnisme," 1939, vol. 1, p. 393], discusses the works to be included in the exhibition "Vues de la Tamise," mentioning one called "Parliament, effect of fog," possibly this picture.

Arsène Alexandre. Claude Monet. Paris, 1921, ill. opp. p. 104.

Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX–XX Centuries." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 3, New York, 1967, pp. 142–43, ill., tentatively identify it as no. 31 in the 1904 Durand-Ruel exhibition.

Douglas Cooper. "The Monets in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3 (1970), pp. 299, 301–2, 304–5, fig. 29.

Anthea Callen. The Impressionists in London. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery. London, 1973, p. 47, no. 25, ill., claims that it may not have been included in the 1904 Durand-Ruel exhibition, and definitely should not be identified as no. 31, which is the version now at the High Museum, Atlanta (W1601).

John House. "The Impressionists in London." Burlington Magazine 115 (March 1973), p. 197.

John Elderfield. "Monet's Series." Art International 18 (November 15, 1974), ill. p. 28.

Grace Seiberling Yale University. Monet's Series. New York, 1981, p. 375, no. 41, lists it as part of the Thames series.

Charles S. Moffett. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1985, pp. 150–51, 253, ill. (color).

Daniel Wildenstein. "1899–1926: Peintures." Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. 4, Lausanne, 1985, pp. 13, 19 n. 149, p. 39 n. 360, pp. 188–89, no. 1609, ill., dates it 1900–1901; claims Monet reworked it after the 1904 Durand-Ruel exhibition, at the same time changing the date from 1904 to 1903 and moving the signature from right to left; illustrates it in its original state; lists it as no. 32 in the 1904 exhibition.

John House. Monet: Nature into Art. New Haven, 1986, pp. 58–59, 204, pl. 89.

Gary Tinterow et al. Capolavori impressionisti dei musei americani. Exh. cat., Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. Milan, 1987, pp. 76–77, no. 33, ill. (color).

Gary Tinterow et al. "Modern Europe." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 8, New York, 1987, pp. 8, 34, colorpl. 18.

Grace Seiberling. Monet in London. Exh. cat., High Museum of Art. Seattle, 1988, pp. 84, 86 n. 87, p. 93 n. 32, fig. 43 (color).

Roger Hurlburt. "Free Spirits." Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) (December 20, 1992), p. 4D.

Stephan Koja. Claude Monet. Exh. cat., Österreichische Galerie, Vienna. Munich, 1996, pp. 196, 220, no. 76, colorpl. 76.

Daniel Wildenstein. "Nos. 1596–1983 et Les Grandes Décorations." Monet: Catalogue raisonné–Werkverzeichnis. 4, 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, pp. 716–17, no. 1609, ill. (color).

Daniel Wildenstein. Monet or the Triumph of Impressionism. 1, 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, ill. p. 346 (color).

Caroline Durand-Ruel. "Quand les Havemeyers aimaient la peinture française." Connaissance des arts no. 544 (November 1997), p. 108.

Eric M. Zafran. "Monet in the United States: The Early Years." Claude Monet–A Hymn to Light. Exh. cat., Hiroshima Prefectural Museum. 2004, pp. 116, 194, 224, no. 43, ill. p. 117 (color).

Joseph Baillio and Cora Michael in Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, p. 170.

Susan Alyson Stein in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007, pp. 145, 285, no. 134, ill. (color and black and white).

Susan Alyson Stein in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 130–31, 242, no. 93, ill. (color and black and white).

Eric M. Zafran in Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, p. 133.

In 1899, 1900, and 1901 Monet worked on three series of Thames scenes in London, which resulted in nearly one hundred pictures. The first group depicts Waterloo Bridge, the second Charing Cross Bridge with the Houses of Parliament, and the third, to which this example belongs, shows the Houses of Parliament alone seen from Saint Thomas's Hospital across the river.