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 ?Barnstaple 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?Barnstaple’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 161 Recto:
?Barnstaple 1811
D08663
Turner Bequest CXXIII 158
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Part watermark ‘th | 6’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘158’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 158’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject may be Barnstaple, North Devon, although the viewpoint has not been established, as the pitched roof in the centre may be one of those shown in the sketch on the verso (D08664; CXXIII 158a), apparently inscribed by Turner as ‘Old Barum’, the latter word being a local name for Barnstaple. The bridges may be on the River Yeo, a tributary of the Taw, which also runs through the town. See the entry for the verso for further discussion.

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘?Barnstaple 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-barnstaple-r1137141, accessed 18 September 2024.