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

The drawings between folios 20 verso and 34 verso (D40967, D17979) include rapid studies and notes of barges, flags, costumes and bridges along the River Thames, and appear to record or relate to the Lord Mayor’s Day procession of 9 November 1824, as discussed in the sketchbook’s Introduction. Here, inverted relative to the sketchbook’s foliation, there are two bands of quick sketches, each divided into two in turn. At the top left Westminster Bridge is seen with the towers of Westminster Abbey and the afternoon sun beyond; there is a similar view at the top right. The sketch at the bottom left is the least clear, but probably shows the roofline of Westminster Hall. The bridge appears again at the bottom right beyond the dark sail of a boat.