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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Rivers of England c.1822-4 > 'Rivers of England' Studies > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of a Boat c.1822

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of a Boat’ c.1822
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Study of a Boat c.1822
D17763
Turner Bequest CCIII F
Pencil on paper, 120 x 204 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil, top right: ‘G [...]’ | ‘?Red ?Rising a[...]’ | ‘Ri[...] ?Hu[...]er St[...]’ | ‘Bed [...]’ | ‘?Light B[...] [...]S W’ and across upper register: ‘How St [...] Chas[...] [...] – Wall ?S[...] CC’
Stamped with Turner Bequest monogram towards bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCIII–F’ bottom right
Inscribed in pencil ‘CCIII F’ top left
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This drawing is part of a group of sketches of boats which were formerly all on one sheet (Tate D17762, D17764–D17766; Turner Bequest CCIII E, G–I).1 Finberg lists the present drawing and others in this group as possible studies for the Rivers of England watercolour The Mouth of the River Humber (Tate D18151; Turner Bequest CCVIII R).2
As in the previous drawing (Tate D17762, Turner Bequest CCIII E) Turner has sketched a barge on rough waters. The forms of the vessels resemble that of the Billy-boy in the Humber design referred to above.
There are inscriptions by Turner at the top left and running across the upper register of the drawing. Though these are almost completely indecipherable they may represent annotations or observations concerning subject matter or ideas regarding composition or colouring. The notes may also be quotations or Turner’s own prose.

Alice Rylance-Watson
March 2013

1
Warrell 1991, p.66 no.77
2
Finberg 1909, vol.I, p.617.

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Study of a Boat c.1822 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-study-of-a-boat-r1146359, accessed 25 April 2024.