Joseph Mallord William Turner, Thomas Girtin

Provenance:
Probably commissioned by Dr Thomas Monro
Monro’s posthumous sale, Christie’s, London, 26–28 June and 1–2 July 1833 (day and lot number not known)
Bought by or on behalf of Turner

This was presumably copied from a sketch or watercolour by John Robert Cozens (1752–1797). The washes here are exceptionally perfunctory, and it is tempting to suppose they were applied by a hand other than Turner’s. However the pencil underdrawing seems to be Girtin’s, and the format of the sheet corresponds roughly to several which can fairly safely be ascribed to the Girtin-Turner collaboration, so it seems reasonable to include the sheet in this group under the joint ascription.

The present subject is apparently the work listed in the 1906 Manchester and 1912 Newcastle catalogues of the Fourth Loan Collection, but not in William White’s 1896 catalogue of the initial 1891–5 showing at the Ruskin Art Museum in Sheffield.1 It was presumably introduced as an extra or replacement work at an unknown date after 1895, hence the other venues prior to 1906 are listed here only tentatively.

Verso:

Blank; stamped in brown ink with Turner Bequest monogram.