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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1834 > Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Selkirk 1834

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Selkirk’ 1834
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 40 Verso:
Selkirk 1834
D26173
Turner Bequest CCLXVIII 40a
Pencil on white wove paper, 111 x 181 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The Scottish Border town of Selkirk is seen here from a point just south of the Selkirk Bridge on the western side of the Ettrick Water. At the left of the sketch, the road on which Turner was travelling north continues, while to the right we look across a field (the site of the Battle of Philiphaugh) to the bridge and town. A road winds up from the bridge to the town, leading to the Town Hall, with its tall tower and spire raising above all the other buildings. Beyond the town is Bell Hill.
Selkirk is depicted in further detail in two similar sketches on folio 41 (D26174). There is another view of the Town Hall on folio 40 (D26172), and further views of the town on folios 41 verso and 42 (D26175, D26176).
There is a light brown stain at the top centre-right of the page.

Thomas Ardill
January 2011

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Selkirk 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 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-selkirk-r1136101, accessed 18 April 2024.