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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Colour Studies of the Sun, Skies and ... > Skies Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Study of an Overcast Sky c.1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Study of an Overcast Sky’ c.1818
Folio 61 Recto:
Study of an Overcast Sky c.1818
D12510
Turner Bequest CLVIII 61
Watercolour on white wove paper, 125 x 247 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘61’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CLVIII – 61’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
On this page Turner has used washes of various shades of grey to evoke a roiling, overcast sky.
The abrupt diagonal brushstrokes present across the composition give a sense of strong winds moving and splitting the clouds. It is difficult to discern if these heavy clouds are passing above water or land.
See the sketchbook’s Introduction for general notes on possible locations and dating.
The verso, with an unrelated pencil drawing, is D12511.
Technical notes:
There is some staining visible along the very edges of the leaf, possibly caused by water damage sustained during the 1928 Tate flood.

Caitlin Doley
July 2024

How to cite

Caitlin Doley, ‘Study of an Overcast Sky c.1818’, catalogue entry, July 2024, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, October 2024, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/study-of-an-overcast-sky-r1208934, accessed 02 May 2025.