Joseph Mallord William Turner

Bridgwater Bay and the Coast Beyond from Blue Anchor Bay

1811

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Not on display

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Devonshire Coast, No.1 Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 75 x 117 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D08673
Turner Bequest CXXIII 163

Catalogue entry

The drawing is in two parts. There is a horizon to the left of the coastal cliffs in the main drawing, while the coastal rocks across the whole of the page towards the top are a continuation of the coast towards Weston-super-Mare and Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands, which also appear on folios 19 verso (D08398) and 121 recto (D08592; CXXIII 118), drawn at Dunster and Cheddar respectively. The viewpoint for the present study is where the Carhampton–Watchet road leaves the coast at Blue Anchor Bay, as apparently indicated by Turner’s inscription; there is a view in the opposite direction, towards Dunster, from the same location on folio 165 verso opposite (D08672; CXXIII 162a).

There is a more delicate rendering of the eastwards view in the contemporary Somerset and North Devon sketchbook (Tate D08957; Turner Bequest CXXVI 11), where Flat Holm and Steep Holm are also seen in a view from Dunster (Tate D08953; Turner Bequest CXXVI 7).

Verso:

Blank

Matthew Imms
June 2011

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