J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Scotland 1818-20 > Scotch Antiquities Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Dunbar Castle 1818

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Dunbar Castle’ 1818
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 20 Recto:
Dunbar Castle 1818
D13618
Turner Bequest CLXVII 19
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 186 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Red’ centre; ‘Reflection’ lower centre
Inscribed in blue ink ‘19’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CLXVII 19’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
For this sketch of the ruins of Dunbar Castle, Turner stood to the west of the rocky promontory on which the castle stands including in the foreground the rocks of Long Craigs. Dominating the foreground on the present page is a ‘red’ rock (typical to the area), which is reflected in the water beneath. The sketch continues at the left on folio 19 verso (D13617; CLXVII 18a) where the promontory descends into the sea. This is one of several sketches of Dunbar in this sketchbook (see folio 18 verso for more information).
Verso:
Blank

Thomas Ardill
February 2008

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Dunbar Castle 1818 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, February 2008, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, December 2012, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-dunbar-castle-r1132166, accessed 18 June 2025.