Marjorie Kane Smyth, also known as Marjorie Burnell, was born in 1888 in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. She was a modernist painter, architect and designer who exhibited in Sydney in the 1920s and 1930s.

The construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, over eight years from 1923 to 1932, was a significant historical event. It provided a focus for optimism as well as employment during the Depression.

The bridge captured the imagination of Smyth and fellow artists such as Grace Cossington Smith, Jessie Traill, Gladys Owen and Herbert Gallop, and it was depicted many times during the stages of its construction.

This work shows the bridge from the northern side. The construction sheds under the bridge were demolished before the bridge was opened and Luna Park stands where they once were.