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

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

Joseph Mallord William Turner Kelso Abbey from the East 1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Kelso Abbey from the East’ 1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 57 Recto:
Kelso Abbey from the East 1831
D26026
Turner Bequest CCLXVII 59
Pencil on off-white wove writing paper, 113 x 185 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘59’ bottom left inverted and ‘271’ top left inverted
Stamped in black ‘CCLXVII – 59’ top left inverted
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the sketchbook inverted is a study of Kelso Abbey from the abbey grounds to the east. The remains of the nave create a sort of cloister leading to the remains of the west tower. Turner’s sketch is supplemented by two studies at the right of arches, at the clerestory (top) and triforium (beneath) levels.
The study is one of three made in the vicinity of the abbey; see folio 19 verso (D25962; CCLXVII 19a) for more information on Turner’s visit to Kelso.

Thomas Ardill
September 2009

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Kelso Abbey from the East 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2009, 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-kelso-abbey-from-the-east-r1134394, accessed 11 May 2024.