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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > East Anglia, Sussex and Yorkshire 1824 > Brighton and Arundel Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Views on the Sussex Coast ?near the Mouth of the River Arun c.1824

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Views on the Sussex Coast ?near the Mouth of the River Arun’ c.1824
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 84 Recto:
Views on the Sussex Coast ?near the Mouth of the River Arun c.1824
D18450
Turner Bequest CCX 79
Pencil on white wove paper, 118 x 75 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ‘[...] | N[...] [?Merman] | 1822’ top left, ‘V[...] Sky’ top left, ‘Bl’ top right, ‘yell’ centre left towards top, ‘B[...] | W[...] Oct | [?Wind]’ centre right towards rear, ‘Fovey’ bottom right
Inscribed in blue ink by Ruskin ‘79’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CCX 79’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Rendered with the sketchbook turned upside down, these cursory views were likely taken by Turner as he explored the River Arun and the coast near Arundel in West Sussex. The English Channel and the coastal town of Littlehampton can be seen from Arundel Castle (see Tate D18419; Turner Bequest CCX 63). The central and lowermost views show the beach, moored fishing boats and a town on the distant headland. An inscription at bottom right reading ‘Fovey’ may well refer to the village of ‘Ford’, located close to the mouth of the River Arun moments west of Littlehampton. There is also an inscription at top left which appears to be dated ‘1822’, though this cataloguer has been unable to transcribe the artist’s note in full.

Alice Rylance-Watson
February 2015

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Views on the Sussex Coast ?near the Mouth of the River Arun c.1824 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, February 2015, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-views-on-the-sussex-coast-near-the-mouth-of-the-river-arun-r1181335, accessed 22 May 2025.