Joseph Mallord William Turner

This view is typical of the topographical watercolours Turner produced in the first half of the 1790s. Although the subject has not been identified, it seems to relate to the works Turner painted as a result of a tour of Kent in 1795. Like a few others watercolours of this period, the drawing could have been made as a model for Turner's amateur pupils to copy (another example can also be found in this room). There is a substantial list in one of Turner's sketchbooks recording the names of some of his students, but he apparently did not greatly enjoy teaching. By 1797 he was making plans to abandon it in order to concentrate on his own work.

Gallery label, September 2004

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