Hastings
The coastal scenery of Sussex was within easy reach of Turner's London house, and appeared in many of Turner's paintings and designs for engravings. The works in this section relate to a finished watercolour known as Hastings from the Sea, 1818 (now in the collection of the British Museum), which was possibly intended to appear in engraved form as part of an unrealised publication called Views at Hastings and its vicinity. The scene was eventually engraved in 1851 and published as a single large plate, although Turner did not live to see its completion.

In Turner's day the seaside resort town of Hastings was a thriving fishing port, evidence of which is plentiful in the engraving. It is also possible to make out the town itself between the cliffs beyond, and the ruins of the Norman castle high on the left. However, the beauty of the design lies in the depiction of the sea itself, with the tossing waves and foaming breakers masterfully rendered in black and white in the engraving. It is interesting to note that Turner began by mapping out the key tonal aspects of a design with broad washes of colour.