Joseph Mallord William Turner

Two sketches, one above the other; the lower, in pencil, very slight and evidently drawn on the spot, depicts horses and a wagon while the one above, in ink, shows a different group of horses with four figures in front of a group of trees. The latter served as the basis for the central motif of the contemporary, unfinished oil known as Men with Horses Crossing a River (Tate N02695) ¹, to which folios 44 recto and verso (D05842, D05844) are also related; in each case the connection was first recognised by Hill, who observes that the horses are being watered, not crossing a river. See 44 recto for the likely connection with Richmond scenery.