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 A West Country Harbour or Fortification with Horses or Mules 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘A West Country Harbour or Fortification with Horses or Mules’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 121 Verso:
A West Country Harbour or Fortification with Horses or Mules 1811
D08593
Turner Bequest CXXIII 118a
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Turner’s sketch is somewhat resistant to interpretation. Beyond the horses there appears to be a central architectural structure, perhaps a West Country pier or fortification. To the right may be the sails of a ship, with a looping line beyond possibly indicating the profile of a cliff. All these features are flanked by trees. The site may be the same as that shown in a wider riverside or harbour view on folio 126 recto (D08601; CXXIII 123).

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘A West Country Harbour or Fortification with Horses or Mules 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-a-west-country-harbour-or-fortification-with-horses-or-mules-r1137070, accessed 26 April 2024.