J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > West Country 1811 > Devonshire Coast, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner A Cove or Harbour, Probably in South Devon 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Cove or Harbour, Probably in South Devon’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 54 Recto:
A Cove or Harbour, Probably in South Devon 1811
D08465
Turner Bequest CXXIII 53
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘53’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 53’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The order of subjects in this sketchbook does not always reflect a direct topographical sequence, but this drawing, along with those on folios 51 recto and 52 verso (D08459, D08462; CXXIII 51, 51c), falls among identified views in West Dorset and the adjacent coast of South Devon, suggesting that they were made in the latter area. Here there is some resemblance to the sheltered beach harbour at Beer, although the profile of the cliffs does not precisely match those seen today. Some of the marks towards the left indicate masts, but others are less clear in their intention.

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Cove or Harbour, Probably in South Devon 1811 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2011, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-a-cove-or-harbour-probably-in-south-devon-r1136942, accessed 20 April 2024.