Wilfrid R. Addey (1912-1999) worked as a commercial artist for over sixty years, working for Dorland Advertising and Mitchells among other London advertising firms. His work shows the range of products and illustration styles, from aeroplanes and cars, beer and perfume, to satirical cartoons and calendar pin-up girls and is representative of the post war boom in advertising during the late 1940s and 1950s.

Three cranes are shown presiding over a cityscape of central London. The angular application of the gouache reflects the linear forms of the cranes. The building site in the foreground conveys a feeling of change . This interest in re-building the city reflects attitudes to rejuvenating the country following the destruction of World War II. The distant spire of possibly one of Wren's churches links the contemporary scene to the rebuilding of London following the Great Fire of 1666 three hundred years earlier.