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

This previously unidentified sketch shows a group of locals at Dieppe, probably encountered by Turner has he sketched the harbour and its environs. Small jottings surround the figures: at top left, a possible item of clothing followed by a design comprised of a squiggly line, dots and circles, and at right, a building. The artist has added written notes including ‘Flushing Packet’, which may refer to a scheduled cargo or passenger service conducted by ship to Vlissingen in the Netherlands. Vlissingen is historically referred to as ‘Flushing’ by the British. Other annotations are: ‘green door’, possibly to describe the building at right, and what appears to read ‘Depot de Tabac’ or tobacco storehouse. For other views of Dieppe in this sketchbook see Tate D19959, D19966, D19968–D19985, D19987–D20014, D20031–D20033; Turner Bequest CCXVI 205, 209a, 211–221a, 222a–236, 244a–245a.