Queens Dock, Liverpool

This print shows a view from Queens Dock looking east towards the Anglican Cathedral, shown at the pinnacle of the image. The Queens Dock was opened in 1796 to handle imported timber and support shipbuilding on its foreshore. The stretch of the land between the dock and the Cathedral is now the site of the Baltic Triangle, a burgeoning creative industry, depicted here on a distorted topographical scale. The various structural elements are disproportionate in size, yet the image appears unexpectedly harmonious, thanks to the stabilising effect of the oversized boat and shed. The combined tonal effects of blue, terracotta and white unite all the elements in a symmetrical composition.