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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1836-47 Modern painter > Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth 1844 > Louis-Philippe at Portsmouth sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Sailing Boats off the Gosport Blockhouse 1844

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Sailing Boats off the Gosport Blockhouse’ 1844
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 20 Recto:
Sailing Boats off the Gosport Blockhouse 1844
D35721
Turner Bequest CCCLXII 20
Pencil on white wove paper, 116 x 74 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘[...]’ towards top right
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘20’ top right, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCCLXII – 20’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Like the other rapid sketches in this book, this relates to the arrival of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, at Portsmouth Harbour on 8 October 1844, as discussed in the Introductions to the sketchbook and the overall section. With the page turned vertically, there are two similar views here of sailing boats off the Gosport blockhouse on the west side of the harbour’s entrance. See also folios 5 recto and 13 recto (Tate D35692, D35708).
Verso:
Blank

Matthew Imms
September 2016

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Sailing Boats off the Gosport Blockhouse 1844 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2016, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, March 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-sailing-boats-off-the-gosport-blockhouse-r1185664, accessed 05 April 2026.