Joseph Mallord William Turner

Conwy Castle

1799

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Dolbadarn Sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 79 × 130 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D02154
Turner Bequest XLVI 107 a

Catalogue entry

The drawing was made with the page turned horizontally. Turner made various outline sketches of the great mass of Conwy Castle; see folios 99 verso and 104 verso (D02141, D02148), and here he comes close to the composition of a large painting of the subject (private collection),1 executed shortly after his return from this tour, and a series of watercolour views of the castle,2 notably the large view now at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.3

Andrew Wilton
May 2013

1
Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984, pp.107–8 no.141, pl.146 (colour).
2
Andrew Wilton, J.M.W. Turner: His Life and Work, Fribourg 1979, pp.329–30 nos.268–271 (some reproduced).
3
Ibid., pp.329–30 no.270 (then Viscount Gage collection).

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