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 and Yorkshire 1814-17 > Devon Rivers, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Okehampton from the Okement Valley 1814

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Okehampton from the Okement Valley’ 1814
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 56 Recto:
Okehampton from the Okement Valley 1814
D09539
Turner Bequest CXXXII 56
Pencil on white wove paper, 90 x 152 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘56’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CXXXII – 56’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
After studies around Okehampton Castle and the adjacent town, this sketch and the ones on folios 55 recto and 57 recto (D09538, D09540) are the last clearly identifiable views, showing Okehampton to the south from Brightley Road (the Barnstaple road) alongside the River Okement. The castle on its mound to the south and the tower of St James’s Chapel in the town centre are almost aligned, although woods in the valley preclude a clear view today. In the top right corner there is a continuation of the skyline to the west, with the tower of All Saints Church on its hill above the town. For other views of Okehampton, see under folio 43 recto (D09526).

Matthew Imms
June 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Okehampton from the Okement Valley 1814 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-okehampton-from-the-okement-valley-r1147085, accessed 25 April 2024.