Joseph Mallord William Turner

Curtains, perhaps at Tabley House, are drawn on folio 9 verso of the sketchbook (D06991; Turner Bequest CV 7a) and the swagged drapery shown in the top right of the present leaf is similar. Here, however, Turner shows a room with a sloped ceiling like his own London gallery in its later manifestation behind his house in Queen Anne Street West (see Introduction to the sketchbook). A similar room with pictures and drapery is sketched on folio 47 (D07044; Turner Bequest CV 43) and folio 46 verso (D07043; Turner Bequest CV 42a) shows a row of pictures along a wall, also with blinds or drapes. These hangings must be intended to protect them from glare from the roof lights.