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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1831 > Berwick Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner ?Leith with the Signal Tower 1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?Leith with the Signal Tower’ 1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 21 Recto:
?Leith with the Signal Tower 1831
D25678
Turner Bequest CCLXV 21
Pencil on white wove paper, 59 x 96 mm
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘21’ top left inverted
Stamped in black ‘CCLXV 21’ top left inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The building depicted in the sketch across the lower half of this page resembles closely the Signal Tower in Leith, drawn by Turner in 1818 (Tate D13574; Turner Bequest CLXVI 64a). This sketch may continue at the right onto folio 20 verso (D25677) where there is an island, perhaps Inchkeith. If this is correct then the sketch above could easily be a view of Leith with the tower of North Leith Church at the right and the outline of Edinburgh Castle to the south in the distance.
There may be further views of Leith on folios 21 verso–22 (D25679–D25680).

Thomas Ardill
May 2010

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘?Leith with the Signal Tower 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, May 2010, 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-leith-with-the-signal-tower-r1134042, accessed 23 September 2024.