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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Margate, London and Surrey c.1829-45 > Marine Dabblers Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sailing Boats ?and a Steamer in a Squall, Perhaps off Margate c.1829-30

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sailing Boats ?and a Steamer in a Squall, Perhaps off Margate’ c.1829-30
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 54 Verso:
Sailing Boats ?and a Steamer in a Squall, Perhaps off Margate c.1829–30
D22525
Turner Bequest CCXLI 54a
Pencil on gilt-edged green wove paper, 89 x 113 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘L[...]’ top left
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned horizontally, shipping is indicated on the left, presumably at sea, with what seems to be the smoke from a steamer beyond in the centre; see also folio 53 verso (D22523). Turner’s inscription above them is effectively illegible. To the right are billowing clouds and parallel lines probably indicating either a burst of sunshine or rain. The effect seems to be of squally weather, perhaps observed off Margate, the subject of other drawings in this book; see the Introduction.

Matthew Imms
May 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Sailing Boats ?and a Steamer in a Squall, Perhaps off Margate c.1829–30 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 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-sailing-boats-and-a-steamer-in-a-squall-perhaps-off-margate-r1148417, accessed 25 April 2024.