Joseph Mallord William Turner

Of the several studies in this sketchbook of Walton Bridge as rebuilt by James Paine, these have the closest claim to be associated with the watercolour (private collection)1 engraved by J.C. Varrall for Picturesque Views in England and Wales, as Eric Shanes observes. The uppermost of these four studies shows the section of the bridge at the right in the watercolour while that at the bottom of the page corresponds to its complete composition. Turner notes the white stone trim on the mainly brick-built bridge, as he does also on folio 48 (D10490; Turner Bequest CXL 42). While Turner could have relied on his earlier painting Walton Bridges (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne)2 these drawings indicate a later return to the site.