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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sketches of Shipping at Leith; and the Firth of Forth Near Barnbougle 1822

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 52 Recto:
Sketches of Shipping at Leith; and the Firth of Forth Near Barnbougle 1822
D17595
Turner Bequest CC 52
Pencil on white wove paper, 187 x 114 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Barnbougle | Ben Lomond’ ‘Walking to the church for [...]’ | ‘Green [?] like last’ | ‘Port [?]Edgar and Barnbougle | Ben Lomond’ top
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘52’ (very faint) top right running vertically
Stamped in black ‘CC 52’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the sketchbook turned to the left, this page has been used for numerous sketches of shipping and the coastline of the Firth of Forth.
Two sketches at the top left and second-from-top right apparently show the coastline around Barnbougle Castle as in folios 34 verso to 35, and 53 (D17561–D17562 and D17597). One inscription refers to ‘Port [?]Edgar and Barnbougle’ while two others label the triangular hill ‘Ben Lomond’ which Turner could apparently see from over fifty miles away to the east. The inscription which may read ‘Walking to the church for [...]’, remains obscure.
The sketch at the very top right of the page may show part of the royal barge judging by the ornate prow of the vessel, and the inscriptions, ‘green like last’, which matches notes on the vessel made elsewhere in this sketchbook (see folio 58 verso; D17608).
Beneath this is a sketch of a single sailed vessel with two or so crew, followed by four sketches of vessels around Leith harbour. The upper most of the four sketches is the most easily identifiable with a ship passing between Leith’s Martello tower and the Signal House, an area that has now become more docks. The Signal House may be present at the right of the other three sketches which each include a number of sailing vessels indicated with the most minimal of pencil marks. The bottom sketch shows two vessels with their crews and the coastline behind.

Thomas Ardill
September 2008

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Sketches of Shipping at Leith; and the Firth of Forth Near Barnbougle 1822 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2008, 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-sketches-of-shipping-at-leith-and-the-firth-of-forth-near-r1132936, accessed 19 September 2024.