Joseph Mallord William TurnerThe Lake, Petworth, Sunset; Sample Study c.1827-8

Turner’s first painting of Petworth, a palatial country house and estate inland from Chichester in West Sussex, was made following a visit in 1809. Its owner, the Earl of Egremont, supported contemporary artists and had already begun a major collection of Turner’s paintings. He stayed at Petworth again in 1827 and often until the Earl’s death in 1837, even being allocated a room for his studio. He began work on four paintings on a double-square format for specific positions in Petworth’s Carved Room, looking out towards the lake. These are three of the studies he made for the series.