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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Marine subjects c.1803-14 > Spithead Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Men-of-War at Anchor 1807

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Men-of-War at Anchor’ 1807
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 18 Recto:
Men-of-War at Anchor 1807
D06536
Turner Bequest C 17
Pen and ink on off-white wove paper, 118 x 187 mm
Inscribed by Turner in ink ‘Flag of the Admiral high in the sky’ bottom right of centre
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘17’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘C 17’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Presumably sketched in Portsmouth harbour or at Spithead, these ships may include prizes from the Danish fleet, seized by the British at Copenhagen; see Introduction to the sketchbook for the historical background. The large ship at centre is flying a number of flags. From Turner’s reference to the Admiral’s flag, she might be the Pompee, flagship of Vice-Admiral Henry Edward Stanhope who brought back the captured ships.
Verso:
Ink splashes from folio 19 (D06537).

David Blayney Brown
May 2006

How to cite

David Blayney Brown, ‘Men-of-War at Anchor 1807 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2006, 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-men-of-war-at-anchor-r1139058, accessed 25 April 2024.