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

This page comprises three bands of views along the waterfront of Portsmouth Harbour; in descending order they effectively form a panorama running from Portsmouth to the east across the harbour entrance to the south and on westwards to Gosport. At the top is the Vulcan Block storehouse with its clock tower. Second comes a slighter section, with Portsmouth Cathedral, the tower at Baltic Wharf, the Square Tower semaphore station and the Round Tower, with the harbour entrance and the Gosport blockhouse below. Compare the five-part view on folio 16 verso (D17944). At the bottom left, framed by pencil lines, is a rapid study of figures in a small boat.

This is one of a continuous series of views around Portsmouth between folios 1 recto and 20 recto (D17913–D17951); many appear to have been made from a boat; for the overall sequence and details of the most prominent buildings and defences, see the Introduction.