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 Woods near Dawlish, with Teignmouth in the Distance 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Woods near Dawlish, with Teignmouth in the Distance’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 92 Recto:
Woods near Dawlish, with Teignmouth in the Distance 1811
D08537
Turner Bequest CXXIII 89
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘Teignmouth to [?Dawlish]’ centre right, ascending vertically
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘89’ bottom right, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 89’ bottom left, descending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This view through trees with a distant feature on the right appears to be to the south towards the Devon coast at Teignmouth, with the profile of the Ness headland beyond. Successive drawings on folios 91 recto and verso (D08535, D08536; CXXIII 88, 88a) seem to show the same feature from closer viewpoints. For other views of Teignmouth see under folio 71 verso (D08499; CXXIII 68a).
The last word of Turner’s inscription is difficult to make out, but probably indicates ‘Dawlish’ (see folios 67 verso and 71 recto; D08491, D08498; CXXIII 64a, 68) a few miles north of Teignmouth. Finberg’s reading ‘Mendip’ is unlikely, as the Mendip Hills are many miles from South Devon, near Glastonbury and Wells in Somerset, through which Turner passed on the return leg of his West Country tour (see folio 121 recto; D08592; CXXIII 118).

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Woods near Dawlish, with Teignmouth in the Distance 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-woods-near-dawlish-with-teignmouth-in-the-distance-r1137014, accessed 25 April 2024.