'?Tobermory and the Sound of Mull', Joseph Mallord William Turner

Artwork details

Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775‑1851)

Title

?Tobermory and the Sound of Mull

From Staffa Sketchbook

Turner Bequest CCLXXIII

Date 1831

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensionssupport: 116 x 186 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

Reference

D26834

Turner Bequest CCLXXIII 48 a

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Turner's sketchbooks

View this artwork in the Staffa Sketchbook

Catalogue entry

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851

Folio 48 Verso:

?Tobermory and the Sound of Mull 1831

D26834
Turner Bequest CCLXXIII 48a

Pencil on white wove paper, 116 x 186 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[?]Aros Tobermory’ upper centre, ‘Tobay’ centre left, ‘Tobmy’ lower centre left, ?‘Cals’ bottom left

Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856

References

The same inscription, which probably says ‘Tobermory’, appears on this page five times, although the Mull village is not obvious in any of the sketches. Several houses seem to be depicted in the bottom sketch just beneath the inscription, and this could possibly be a view of Tobermory Bay from just south-east of Calve Island, although the island in this sketch looks too hilly. The present author is sceptical about David Wallace-Hadrill and Janet Carolan’s suggestion that this could be a view from the shore of Ardnamurchan looking towards the headland called Maclean’s Nose.1 With the sun straight ahead, low in the sky and reflected in the water, this must either be a view east in early morning, or west in the evening. The other two sketches show two coastlines, suggesting the Sound of Mull, although the exact locations have not been identified.

For more information about Turner’s visit to Mull see folio 1 verso (D26749).

Thomas Ardill
March 2010

David Wallace-Hadrill and Janet Carolan, ‘Turner on Mull and Staffa’, [circa 1991], Tate catalogue files, [folio 12].

Read this catalogue entry in full

This catalogue entry is part of: David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, December 2012.