Joseph Mallord William Turner

?Kittiwakes on a Channel Beach; the Château de Dieppe

1845

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of: Dieppe and Kent Sketchbook
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 111 × 86 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference: D35613
Turner Bequest CCCLXI 71

Catalogue entry

With the page turned vertically, there are two beach scenes, presumably on a Channel coast. Under two small marks in the lower sketch, Turner has written what may be ‘Kiddy Wake’, probably indicating kittiwake gulls. See the sketchbook’s Introduction for the many slight coastal views scattered through it.

At the left, ascending vertically relative to the other sketches, is a skyline of roofs which seems to be a continuation of the view of the Château de Dieppe on folio 70 recto (D35611).

Technical notes:

There is some brown staining at the gutter, possibly indicating water damage in the 1928 Tate flood.

Verso:

Blank; there is a thin strip of modern paper pasted in at the gutter, acting as a reinforcing hinge between this page and folio 72 recto opposite (D35614).

Matthew Imms
September 2016

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