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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Scotland 1834 > Edinburgh Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Gala Water and Galashiels 1834

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Gala Water and Galashiels’ 1834
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 44 Recto:
Gala Water and Galashiels 1834
D26180
Turner Bequest CCLXVIII 44
Pencil on white wove paper, 181 x 111 mm
Inscribed in red ink by John Ruskin ‘44’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLXVIII – 44’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
With the sketchbook turned to the portrait format, Turner has made two quick sketches of the Gala Water at Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. The first, at the top of the page, is a view south-east along the river in the direction of Melrose (see folio 42 verso; D26177), while the sketch beneath is likely to be a view in the opposite direction towards Galashiels. At the centre of this sketch is a horizontal line with a circle beneath it that may represent a bridge, perhaps the same bridge that is depicted on folios 42 verso, 43 (D26178) and 44 verso (D26181).
See folio 42 verso for further information about Turner’s visit to Galashiels.
There is a pale water stain at the upper centre of this page.

Thomas Ardill
January 2011

How to cite

Thomas Ardill, ‘Gala Water and Galashiels 1834 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 2011, 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-gala-water-and-galashiels-r1136108, accessed 20 September 2024.