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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Rocks of Dunbar and Bass Rock 1818

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 21 Recto:
Rocks of Dunbar and Bass Rock 1818
D13619
Turner Bequest CLXVII 20
Pencil on white wove paper, 112 x 186 mm
Inscribed in pencil by Turner ?‘grass’ centre
Inscribed in blue ink ‘20’ top right
Stamped in black ‘CLXVII 20’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This sketch shows the rocky promontory on which the ruins of Dunbar Castle stand (although they are not visible in the current sketch). The view is from the east, and between some of the rocks that stick out of the water can be seen the coastline around North Berwick, with what may be the conical-shaped North Berwick Law and, at the right, the island of Bass Rock. At the top of the promontory is an area of ‘grass’. This part of the rock was blasted away in 1844 in order to make a passage through to Victoria Harbour, further diminishing what was left of the ancient castle.
For references to other sketches of Dunbar Castle in this sketchbook, see folio 18 verso (D13615; CLXVII 17a).
Verso:
Blank

Thomas Ardill
February 2008

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Rocks of Dunbar and Bass Rock 1818 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, February 2008, 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-rocks-of-dunbar-and-bass-rock-r1132167, accessed 28 March 2024.