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

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

Joseph Mallord William Turner Whalers at Sea at Sunset c.1845

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Whalers at Sea at Sunset’ c.1845
Whalers at Sea at Sunset c.1845
D35250
Turner Bequest CCCLIII 11
Chalk and watercolour on white wove paper prepared with a grey wash, 221 x 328 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram bottom right
Inscribed in red ink ‘11’ bottom right (now faded)
Stamped in black ‘CCCLIII 11’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
The masts of several ships can be made out through the vigorous flurry of black chalk on the horizon in this sea view; embedded in this central mass appears to be a ship at far left that is tilting dramatically, its flag caught on the wind. The red and yellow glow along the horizon could stand for a sunset; equally plausible however, considering the subject matter of other pages from this sketchbook (D35245 and D35246; CCCLIII 6. 7), is the possibility that this glow represents the burning of whale blubber on board these vessels.
Technical Notes:
The leaf is slightly discoloured and shows signs of past cockling, probably as a result of the Tate Gallery flood of 1928. The leaf is mounted.
Verso:
Blank, bearing some offsetting in black media and adventitious mark in black chalk and watercolour; discolouration and signs of cockling.

Amy Concannon
May 2025

How to cite

Amy Concannon, ‘Whalers at Sea at Sunset 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/whalers-at-sea-at-sunset-r1214158, accessed 11 July 2026.