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

Although the exact location of these ‘Rocks on Coast’ is uncertain,1 several elements recall other identified sketches in this book which would suggest the following identification. The conical shape on the right could be North Berwick Law (see folio 6 verso; D13332; CLXV 6a), which would make the shape of ruins and rocks on the left, which recalls the sketch on folio 38 verso (D13388; CLXV 38a), more likely to be Bass Rock than Dunbar. This interpretation means that we look towards the mouth of the Firth of Forth with the East Lothian coast on our left and Bass Rock on the right. At the top of the page is a detail of the ruins on the right of the page.