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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8

Joseph Mallord William Turner Polson Bridge, with Launceston Castle in the Distance 1814

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Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 78 Recto:
Polson Bridge, with Launceston Castle in the Distance 1814
D09826
Turner Bequest CXXXIV 34
Pencil on white wove paper with gilt edges, 179 x 254 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CXXXIV – 34’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Polson Bridge is about a mile and a half east of Launceston on the River Tamar. The rather makeshift-looking bridge is here seen from the east, with Launceston Castle on the skyline. It has since been replaced but the original structure is shown clearly in Joseph Farington’s 1813 engraving Poulton Bridge and Launceston (impression: Government Art Collection, London). On the verso (D09827) is what appears to be a continuation from the right-hand edge of the present drawing. A similar view appears in the contemporary Devon Rivers, No.1 sketchbook (Tate D09607; Turner Bequest CXXXII 115).
There is a view from the other side on folio 77 recto (D09825; Turner Bequest CXXXIV 33). The bridge is mentioned in a note in the Devon Rivers, No.2 sketchbook (Tate D09732; Turner Bequest CXXXIII 51a). For closer views of Launceston Castle and the surrounding town, see under folio 70 recto (D09873; Turner Bequest CXXXIV 72).

Matthew Imms
July 2014

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Polson Bridge, with Launceston Castle in the Distance 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-polson-bridge-with-launceston-castle-in-the-distance-r1147438, accessed 29 March 2024.