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

The sketches on this page record the continuation of Turner’s journey up Loch Linnhe towards Ballachulish. Having steamed up the Lynn of Lorn (folio 39 verso; D26816) and passed Port Appin (folio 38 verso (D26814), the sketches on this page were made around the Sound of Shuna. At the top of the page is a sketch inscribed ‘Shuna’. This depicts Shuna Castle, which stands at the south of Shuna Island. Turner made two sketches of the castle on folio 38 verso. The view of the castle in the present sketch, David Wallace-Hadrill and Janet Carolan suggest, may indicate that the boat Turner was travelling on passed Shuna Island to the east, travelling along the Sound of Shuna.1

At the top right of the page is a small study of Castle Stalker as seen from the west. Beneath is another sketch of the castle from the same view, this time including its setting on Loch Laich (just off Loch Linnhe). There are further sketches of Castle Stalker on folios 38 verso and 39 (D26815).

At the centre of the page is a sketch of a hilly shoreline. This may be Appin Hill above Appin House on the coast opposite Shuna, as seen from the Sound of Shuna.

At the bottom of the page, drawn with the sketchbook inverted, is a sketch of mountain peaks with an inscription that has not been deciphered. This may be a view from Loch Linnhe, perhaps looking across the loch to the mountains to the west, or it may be a sketch made during Turner’s visit to Glen Coe (see folio 2; D26750 for references).