Signed l.r.: Boswell

Watercolour and gouache over pen and ink, 16 by 24 ins (40.5 by 61 cm)

The present work is Boswell?s interpretation of the vibrant street life of Camden Town, a part of London that the artist loved and knew well. From the early 1940s Boswell would pass through this part of London on the 24 bus route and he painted many views of the area, often incorporating parts of Kentish Town and Mornington Crescent into the same cityscape. This picture was probably painted in the early 1950s just after the artist had started working for the Sainsbury?s house magazine. Boswell regularly included fish bars in his street scenes and would often name his shops and bars after friends and contemporaries. It is therefore possible that Hylton was the name of an associate of the artist from the early 1950s. I am grateful to Ruth Boswell and Sal Shuel for their assistance in researching this painting.