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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1830-35 Annual tourist > Severn Valley, Chester and Peak District ... > Worcester and Shrewsbury Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Bridgnorth from the South ?1831

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Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Bridgnorth from the South’ ?1831
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 78 Recto:
Bridgnorth from the South ?1831
D22293
Turner Bequest CCXXXIX 77
Pencil on white wove paper, 114 x 191 mm
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘77’ top left, upside down
Stamped in black ‘CCXXXIX – 77’ top left, upside down
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The subject was identified as ‘Bridgenorth’ (sic) by A.J. Finberg (died 1939) and the watercolour and Turner scholar C.F. Bell (died 1966) in undated manuscript notes in copies of Finberg’s 1909 Inventory,1 where Finberg rather doubtfully suggested Richmond, North Yorkshire, or Shrewsbury as alternatives – compare for example the general form of a Richmond sketch in the 1797 Tweed and Lakes sketchbook (Tate D01012; Turner Bequest XXXV 9); for Shrewsbury, see under folio 12 verso (D22172).
The view here, continued on folio 77 verso opposite (D22292; Turner Bequest CCXXXIX 76a), shows Bridgnorth to the north up the valley of the River Severn. The leaning castle ruins, St Mary Magdalene’s Church and St Leonard’s Church beyond are seen along the skyline, with the Severn bridge below. There is a similar view on folio 1 recto (D22151), under which other sketches are mentioned.

Matthew Imms
April 2014

1
A.J. Finberg, undated MS notes in a copy of Finberg 1909, Tate Britain Prints and Drawings Room, vol.II, p.736; C.F. Bell, undated MS notes in another copy at the same location, vol.II, p.736; subject confirmed by Ian Warrell in notes from 1993 and later in Tate catalogue files..

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Bridgnorth from the South ?1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, April 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-bridgnorth-from-the-south-r1148941, accessed 18 September 2024.