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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1834 > Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Gala Hill, Galashiels 1834

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Gala Hill, Galashiels’ 1834
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 61 Recto:
Gala Hill, Galashiels 1834
D26213
Turner Bequest CCLXVIII 61
Pencil on white wove paper, 181 x 111 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘Gala’ top right
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘61’ top left inverted
Stamped in black ‘CCLXVIII – 61’ top left inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Drawn across the top of this page, with the book turned in the portrait format, is a sketch that may be inscribed ‘Gala’, which must refer to the Gala Water and Gala Hill at the Scottish Border town of Galashiels. This is presumably a sketch of the hill to the south of the town. The zigzag line at the left of the sketch depicts a row of warehouse or factory roofs. Similar buildings are depicted in a sketch of Galashiels on folio 45 verso (D26183).
For references to further sketches of the town and nearby country see folio 42 verso (D26177).

Thomas Ardill
January 2011

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Gala Hill, Galashiels 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 2011, 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-gala-hill-galashiels-r1136141, accessed 24 October 2025.