Joseph Mallord William Turner

Shipping off Portsmouth, Possibly with the Square Tower Semaphore Station

1844

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

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Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Part of
Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth sketchbook
Medium
Graphite on paper
Dimensions
Support: 74 × 116 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D35726
Turner Bequest CCCLXII 22 a

Catalogue entry

Inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, this quick sketch shows boats with a building beyond, which may be the Portsmouth’s Square Tower semaphore station with its distinctive mast. For other views, see under folio 2 verso (Tate D35688).
Like the other rapid sketches in this book, this relates to the arrival of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, at Portsmouth Harbour on 8 October 1844, as discussed in the Introductions to the sketchbook and the overall section.

Matthew Imms
September 2016

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