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 Bay Seen through Trees, Probably in South Devon 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A Bay Seen through Trees, Probably in South Devon’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 52 Verso:
A Bay Seen through Trees, Probably in South Devon 1811
D08462
Turner Bequest CXXIII 51c
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by turner in pencil ‘[?corn]’ lower left and ‘[...]’ centre right
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘51c’ top right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 51c’ top left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Finberg’s ‘Town’ is not readily apparent, although there seems to be a slender tower on the far left and a squarish structure, possibly a fortification, on the shore below the steep headland towards the centre. Along with those on folios 51 recto (D08459) and 54 recto (D08465; CXXIII 53), this sketch falls among identified views in West Dorset and the adjacent coast of South Devon, suggesting that they were made in the latter area. Turner’s inscription towards the lower right seems to comprise two or three words, and is perhaps an incidental note rather than a place name.

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A Bay Seen through Trees, 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-bay-seen-through-trees-probably-in-south-devon-r1136939, accessed 24 September 2024.