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 ?Minehead Harbour with Dunster in the Distance 1811

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘?Minehead Harbour with Dunster in the Distance’ 1811
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 205 Recto:
?Minehead Harbour with Dunster in the Distance 1811
D08732
Turner Bequest CXXIII 202
Pencil on white wove writing paper, 75 x 117 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘202’ top left, ascending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXIII – 202’ top right, ascending vertically
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This appears to be a view from inside the small harbour at Minehead, with the pier on the left and the quay on the right, looking south-east across Blue Anchor Bay, with the Conygar Tower on its hill at Dunster silhouetted at the centre. There is a comparable view towards Dunster on folio 181 verso (D08699; CXXIII 178v). The squarish, three-storey building on the right is recorded in a loose manner which, combined with its uneven roofline, suggests a ruined shell. For other views of Dunster, see under folio 19 verso (D08398).
The configuration of the boats’ masts suggest they those seen in the distance from the opposite direction in the wider view of Minehead in the Somerset and North Devon sketchbook (Tate D08956; Turner Bequest CXXVI 10).
Technical notes:
There is a little offsetting towards the bottom from the ink inscription on folio 204 verso opposite (D08731; CXXIII 201a)
Verso:
Blank

Matthew Imms
June 2011

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘?Minehead Harbour with Dunster 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-minehead-harbour-with-dunster-in-the-distance-r1137210, accessed 20 April 2024.