A Train Leaving St. Pancras

In Charles Potter's drawing, only the smoke billowing around the gasholder in the background denotes the presence of a train leaving St Pancras.

Designed by the 19th century architect William Barlow, St. Pancras Station was completed in 1868, two years after construction work first began. The station building's red brick Gothic facade was designed as part of a competition and subsequently Grade 1 listed. As opposed to focusing on the station itself, the artist looks at the back-streets of the city and conveys the visual impact of the trains on the urban environment, which is lit up by artificial lighting. The road depicted here, which two pedestrians are walking along, is possibly Camley Street or Wharf Road.

The artist Charles Potter studied at London's Central School of Art in Southampton Row. Although Potter did not regard himself as a 'professional fine art artist', his work came to the notice of Campbell Dodgson, Keeper of Prints & Drawings at the British Museum, who included several of his aquatints in British Council exhibitions overseas.