A London Crossing Sweeper and Flower Girl

This sentimental night scene set at the northern end of Blackfriars Bridge shows part of the City waterfront in the background. A boy crossing sweeper, pausing for food, is selling matches while the girl offers bunches of roses, pinks and carnations to passers-by in exchange for money.

Many poor Londoners set up as crossing sweepers, a profession which provided ample opportunity for begging. Without a regular pitch, children crossing sweepers frequently moved around. Flower sellers were mostly female and under the age of twenty; some were also prostitutes. Sunday, the best day for trade, saw four or five hundred girls on the streets selling seasonal flowers.

The artist Augustus Mulready painted a number of London genre scenes with a moral narrative. The composition for this painting was re-worked for a later painting entitled 'Violets and May Blossoms'.