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 Shipping on the River Thames off the Tower of London c.1829-30

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Shipping on the River Thames off the Tower of London’ c.1829-30
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 56 Recto:
Shipping on the River Thames off the Tower of London c.1829–30
D22528
Turner Bequest CCXLI 56
Pencil on gilt-edged pink wove paper, 89 x 113 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[?S...]’ towards bottom left
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘56’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCXLI – 56’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned horizontally, shipping is shown on the River Thames off the Tower of London, with London Bridge in the distance on the left. The brief inscription beneath one of the boats appears to begin with ‘S’ and may indicate a steamer. There appear to be separate details below at the left and centre.
There are similar studies on folios 55 recto and verso (D22526, D22527). Given the Margate drawings elsewhere in this book, Turner perhaps had a moment to make these studies when leaving or returning on one of the steamers used on the route to the resort down the Thames Estuary (see the Introduction).

Matthew Imms
May 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Shipping on the River Thames off the Tower of London 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-shipping-on-the-river-thames-off-the-tower-of-london-r1148420, accessed 23 April 2024.