Whalers sketchbook (c.1845)
A topical and novel aspect of the sea which engaged Turner's interest in the later years of his life was that of whales and whaling. The fascination may have been ignited by one of Turner's patrons, Elhanan Bicknell, who had made his fortune from the whaling industry as a merchant of refined sperm oil. Turner also read the 1839 publication by Thomas Beale, Natural History of the Sperm Whale…to which is added a sketch of a South-Sea Whaling Voyage which seems to have fired his imagination. He ultimately produced four oil paintings of the subject, exhibited in 1845 and 1846, as well as a number of sketches and drawings, including those in the Whalers sketchbook of around 1845.

The drawings in the Whalers sketchbook were made in an unusual combination of watercolour wash and coloured chalk on paper. As well as views of whaling vessels boiling blubber, the sketchbook contains general studies of ships and the sea. The density of the chalks against the background of the grey wash is particularly effective at rendering storm clouds and ships on the horizon, thrown into darkness by the dramatic sunset behind. The shocking intensity of colour and texture is well suited to the underlying violence and danger of the whaling theme.