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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > West Country 1811 > Devonshire Coast, No.1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Powderham Castle; Restormel Castle; a House; a Coastline; Buildings 1811

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Powderham Castle; Restormel Castle; a House; a Coastline; Buildings’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 66 Recto:
Powderham Castle; Restormel Castle; a House; a Coastline; Buildings 1811
D08488
Turner Bequest CXXIII 63
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘Restormels’ to left of top centre, and ‘[...]’ and ‘w[...]’ towards top left within view of Restormel Castle
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘63’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 63’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Despite Finberg, there appear to be five sketches on the page: the central view seems to show the east front of Powderham Castle, a large country house south of Exeter, as seen from the west bank of the Exe Estuary, which is sketched on the verso (D08489) and subsequent pages. Turner had drawn Exeter in the contemporary Corfe to Dartmouth sketchbook (see under Tate D08842; Turner Bequest CXXIV 30).
The views of Restormel Castle and a house among trees occupying the left and right corners above, framed by horizontal and vertical lines; and two further drawings of a coastline and roofs, to the bottom right and left respectively and inverted in relation to the other three sketches. The tiny Restormel view is similar to a full-page sketch from the north in the larger Ivy Bridge to Penzance sketchbook (Tate D08895; CXXV 21a). For others of the Cornish castle see under folio 7 recto (D08374).

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Powderham Castle; Restormel Castle; a House; a Coastline; Buildings 1811 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, June 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-powderham-castle-restormel-castle-a-house-a-coastline-r1136965, accessed 23 April 2024.