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 West Country River or Estuary between Hills with Distant Buildings 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A West Country River or Estuary between Hills with Distant Buildings’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 165 Recto:
A West Country River or Estuary between Hills with Distant Buildings 1811
D08671
Turner Bequest CXXIII 162
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 117 x 75 mm
Part watermark ‘Sm | 17’
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘162’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 162’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This small sketch, occupying only the top quarter of the page, is nevertheless quite detailed, although any relationship with the many identified West Country river and coastal scenes in this sketchbook has yet to be established. There may be a church or castle and some sort of waterfront feature on the left bank, and possibly a mast beyond the headland or bank on the right.
Technical notes:
There is some offsetting down the left-hand edge side from the ink inscription on folio 164 verso opposite (D08670; CXXIII 161a).

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A West Country River or Estuary between Hills with Distant Buildings 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-west-country-river-or-estuary-between-hills-with-distant-r1137149, accessed 26 April 2024.