Joseph Mallord William Turner

Dark grey clouds arch over this sea view, dwarfing two small fishing boats out on the horizon. In this respect it forms a group with the subsequent two works as originally constituted in the sketchbook (D35389–D35390; Turner Bequest CCCLVII 4, 5). The present sketch particularly resembles D35389, which is inscribed ‘Vim’, Turner’s phonetic abbreviation for Wimereux, possibly also locating this scene near the former naval garrison of that name. Small-scale fishing had become the main industry of this ‘sorry hamlet’ by the 1840s as its military-strategic importance declined during the post-Napoleonic peace with Great Britain.1

Verso:

Blank; the sheet was not available for inspection out of its frame at the time of cataloguing.