Though Pryde lived in London from 1890, his paintings are nonetheless infused with memories of his native Edinburgh. The column on the left is similar to the Monument to Sir Henry Dundas in St Andrew Square. Pryde’s love of theatre comes to show in this dramatic interplay of darkness and light, architecture and nature. Tall columns and terrace looking out into the sea create a rectangular frame, whereas the dark clouds close like an arch over the small ship in the distance. The human figures, though shown in the foreground, are dwarfed by the scale of their surroundings.