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 Interior of Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders 1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Interior of Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders’ 1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 82 Recto:
Interior of Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders 1831
D26076
Turner Bequest CCLXVII 84
Pencil on off-white wove writing paper, 185 x 113 mm
Inscribed in blue ink by John Ruskin ‘84’ top left running vertically and ‘271’ top right running vertically
Stamped in black ‘CCLXVII – 84’ top right running vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
One of two pages of sketches of the interior of Smailholm Tower (see folio 90; D26092; CCLXVII 92), the main sketch on this page was made on the ground floor and looks towards the fireplace. Turner’s sketch looks right up to the arched ceiling and reveals that the floors were missing at this time. Robert Cadell, who accompanied Turner to the site along with Sir Walter Scott, made no mention in his diary of Turner sketching the inside of the tower.
See folio 82 verso (D26077; CCLXVII 84a) for references and more information on Turner’s visit to Smailholm.

Thomas Ardill
September 2009

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Interior of Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders 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-interior-of-smailholm-tower-scottish-borders-r1134444, accessed 26 April 2024.