Kossoff — Dalston Junction with Ridley Road Street Market

The hectic movement of industrialization in the city called many people to “Come to London!” looking for work and companionship in times of struggle. Often people did not find the camaraderie they longed for, however, and instead felt as if “privacy was a passing fad” (Lary Niven) on the crowded streets and marketplaces shown in this painting of Dalston Junction. In “Living for the City,” Stevie Wonder sings about the long working hours, poor pay, discrimination, and the “voice[s] of sorrow” that cry out about the cruelty of city life.