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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner Clouds c.1845

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Clouds’ c.1845
Clouds c.1845
D35241
Turner Bequest CCCLIII 2
Watercolour on white wove paper prepared with a grey wash, 221 x 331 mm
Watermark ‘J Whatman | Turkey Mills | 1823’
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘2’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCCLIII 2’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
A combination of rapidly laid-down washes and angular, zig-zag marks make up this image of clouds, which stretches horizontally to cover the upper two thirds of the page.
Technical Notes:
In common with others in this sketchbook, the leaf is loose of its binding. There is part of a fingerprint in black watercolour at the lower right-hand corner. The upper left-hand edge of the leaf has a section that has been torn away while the centre of the right-hand edge has a horizontal tear measuring 15mm across; the right-hand edge is also discoloured, probably as a result of damage in the Tate Gallery flood of 1928.
Verso:
Blank, with a patch of discolouration at the top left-hand edge and a strip of offsetting in blue watercolour along the right-hand edge.

Amy Concannon
May 2025

How to cite

Amy Concannon, ‘Clouds c.1845’, catalogue entry, May 2025, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, July 2026, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/clouds-r1214149, accessed 11 July 2026.