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Boat on a rough sea

Maker

(artist)
1775-1851

Title

Boat on a rough sea

Date of Production

(circa) 1840

Medium

graphite, watercolour, bodycolour on grey (now brown on recto) wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 12.8 cm
Width: 17.8 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.4022

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords





Label Text

Although the setting of this work is unknown, it shares stylistic similarities with marine watercolour studies that Turner made at Margate around 1840. His first-hand experience of sailing in all weathers is conveyed in the bravura of the drawing, which shows a small boat battling against the elements in a turbulent sea. Touches of red-brown enliven an otherwise muted palette, while spots of water on the sheet – possibly raindrops – suggest that the sketch was begun, if not finished, in the open air.

Notes

The paper was handmade by Bally, Ellen & Steart at de Montalt Mill, near Bath, Somerset (see Paths of Fame exh. cat. no. 27 for more on this paper).

Provenance

Thomas Pegram; his estate sale, Sotheby's (London), 24 November 1948, lot 31; purchased there by Colnaghi (London), on behalf of Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), for £140; Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Summer Showcase - Unfinished, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 18/06/2015-20/09/2015

Paths to Fame - Turner's Watercolour Landscapes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 30/10/2008-25/01/2009

Paths to Fame - Turner's Watercolour Landscapes, Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere, England, 16/07/2008-12/10/2008 ...More

J.M.W. Turner, 'That Greatest of Landscape Painters' -
Watercolours from London Museums
, Tulsa, USA, 08/02/1998-12/04/1998

Turner, Prout, Steer - Three Bequests to the Courtauld Institute
Galleries
, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1980

English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/06/1979-01/09/1979

Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976-78

English Landscape Drawings [catalogue not found], Rye Art Gallery, England, 1971

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/01/1965-01/05/1965

L'Aquarelle Romantique en France et en Angleterre, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Calais, 29/07/1961-17/09/1961

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 01/09/1960-01/10/1960

Drawings from the Witt Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1958-59 ...Less

Literature

Paths to Fame: Turner Watercolours from The Courtauld Gallery, Wordsworth Trust; Courtauld Gallery, 2008-2009
no. 29
p. 145

J.M.W. Turner, 'That Greatest of Landscape Painters' - Watercolours from London Museums, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1998

J.M.W. Turner, "that greatest of landscape painters": watercolors from London museums, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1998
no. 34
p. 141 ...More

Turner Prout Steer Three Bequests to the Courtauld Institute of Art, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1980
no. 15 (Turner)

English Landscape Drawings and Watercolours, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1979
cat. no. 42

Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from the Spooner and Witt Collections, Australia, New Zealand, 1976 - 1978
cat. no. 32

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1965
cat. no. 41

L'Aquarelle Romantique en France et en Angleterre, Musee des Beaux-Arts, Calais, 1961
cat. no. 112

Old Master Drawings from the Witt Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, 1960
cat. no. 17

Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1958 - 1959
cat. no. 53

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 53 ...Less

Inscriptions

Inscription: none.

Collector's mark: none.

Label: Removed from mount, now added to curatorial file, printed, from National Art Gallery, New Zealand: Caution / under no circumstances must this work be removed from its frame / New Zealand.

Watermark: none.

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