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 and Yorkshire 1814-17 > Devon Rivers, No.2 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Hulks, Probably on the Hamoaze or Lower Tamar 1814

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Hulks, Probably on the Hamoaze or Lower Tamar’ 1814
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 6 Recto:
Hulks, Probably on the Hamoaze or Lower Tamar 1814
D09676
Turner Bequest CXXXIII 6
Pencil on white wove paper, 110 x 178 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in blue ink ‘6’ bottom right, descending vertically, and ‘294’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CXXXIII 6’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
There is a skyline of wooded hills in the distance, perhaps indicating Mount Edgcumbe, west of Plymouth Sound. This is one of a number of studies of hulks (decommissioned, dismasted warships) interspersed with topographical sketches in the Hamoaze and lower reaches of the River Tamar north-west of the Sound between folios 3 recto and 29 recto (D09671–D09703). In fact, there are slight indications of masts and sails here, so these particular vessels may be laid up only temporarily.

Matthew Imms
July 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Hulks, Probably on the Hamoaze or Lower Tamar 1814 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, July 2014, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-hulks-probably-on-the-hamoaze-or-lower-tamar-r1147227, accessed 25 April 2024.