Acquisitions
Featured Acquisitions and Gifts
The Blue Rigi, Sunrise 1842
Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Blue Rigi, Sunrise 1842, Watercolour on paper. T12336
Purchased with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund (including generous support from David and Susan Gradel, and from other members of the public through the Save the Blue Rigi appeal), Tate Members and other donors 2007
Turner’s final finished Swiss watercolours are now widely dispersed around the world, but, thanks to unprecedented public support, this fine example can be seen in conjunction with the related material in the Turner Bequest. The view here is from the quayside at Lucerne looking south-east at dawn. Turner developed the watercolour from a preliminary design in which only the basic shape of the mountain is set down. In contrast to all the related studies in the Turner collection at Tate Britain, the image is built up through a deliberate layering of washes and tiny touches of the brush, a process that resulted in incredibly subtle vaporous effects.
The Blue Rigi was saved for the nation in March 2007 with the help of the most successful public appeal ever organized by The Art Fund, together with generous contributions from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund’s own grant, Tate Members and the largest ever allocation from Tate's acquisitions endowment fund. Tate is grateful for the extraordinary generosity of the many individuals whose support ensured that this masterpiece can now be enjoyed by the public for generations to come.
