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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Isle of Wight 1827 > Cowes Regatta Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Figure Studies of Men at Work, Perhaps at Cowes; a Sailing Boat 1827

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Figure Studies of Men at Work, Perhaps at Cowes; a Sailing Boat’ 1827
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 74 Recto:
Figure Studies of Men at Work, Perhaps at Cowes; a Sailing Boat 1827
D18132
Turner Bequest CCVII 74
Pencil on white wove paper, 100 x 74 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘74’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCVII – 74’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the page turned vertically, there are four swift figure studies of men, one of whom may be walking or standing while two others crouch or kneel; the fourth is barely begun. They are perhaps sailors engaged in cleaning or maintenance tasks. At the top right is a small, unrelated study of a sailing boat. For more on studies in this sketchbook relating to the regatta events at Cowes from late July 1827 onwards, see the sketchbook Introduction.

Matthew Imms
December 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Figure Studies of Men at Work, Perhaps at Cowes; a Sailing Boat 1827 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-figure-studies-of-men-at-work-perhaps-at-cowes-a-sailing-r1183620, accessed 26 April 2024.