Joseph Mallord William Turner

This is one of four loose ‘colour beginnings’ related to the 1822 watercolour Rokeby (The Higgins, Bedford),1 showing a rocky, wooded ravine on the River Greta (see also Tate D25371, D25408 and D25411; Turner Bequest CCLXIII 249, 285, 288). This connection was established by Eric Shanes;2 see under D25371 for discussion of the circumstances, subject and composition of the finished design.

Only this variation of the four employs a horizontal format rather than the upright arrangement seen in the completed work; nevertheless, if the left-hand half is disregarded, the similarity is immediately clear. Eric Shanes has compared the setting to that of the secluded scene in the mid-1810s watercolour A Rocky Pool, with a Heron and a Kingfisher,3 traditionally known as ‘A Lonely Dell, Wharfedale’ (Leeds Museums and Art Galleries).4

Verso:

Blank; inscribed in pencil ‘69 | b’ right of centre; stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram over ‘CCLXIII – 286’ towards bottom left; inscribed in pencil ‘D.25409’ bottom left.