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The Avon Gorge at Bristol with the Old Hot Wells House

Maker

(artist)
1775-1851

Title

Date of Production

(circa) 1792

Medium

graphite, watercolour, pen and brown ink with some scraping on wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 27.4 cm
Width: 34 cm

Accession Number

D.2007.DS.42

Mode of Acquisition

Dorothy Scharf, bequest, 2007 (March)

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

When the young Turner visited Bristol in 1791, the hours he spent sketching on the cliffs of the Avon Gorge earned him the nickname ‘The Prince of the Rocks’ from his hosts, the Narraway family. From the riverbank, he focuses on a fast approaching ship, framing it with rhythmic curves that echo the shape of its billowing sails. Turner’s inventive composition and vibrant colour scheme reveal his determination to produce an aesthetically stimulating picture, rather than an exact representation of the view.

Provenance

given by the artist to family friend, John Narraway; by descent to his niece, Miss Ann Dart, by 1860; presented by a 'subscription of ladies' to the Bristol Fine Arts Academy (later Royal West of England Academy), by 1897; purchased there by City Art Gallery, Bristol, 1931; de-accessioned, 1958; purchased there by Frost & Reed (Bristol and London), May 1960; purchased there by Miss Katherine Gotch Robinson, Westbury-on-Trym, November 1960; her sale, Osmond, Tricks and Son (Bristol), 16 November 1978, lot 92; purchased there by Thomas Agnew & Sons (London); purchased there by Miss Dorothy Scharf, London (1942-2004), 1980; Scharf Bequest 2007

Exhibition History

Creative Paths, Gaias Centre Museum, Santiago de Compostela, 09/11/2022-09/04/2023

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

106th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, 22/01/1979-23/02/1979 ...Less

Literature

Paths to Fame: Turner Watercolours from The Courtauld Gallery, Wordsworth Trust; Courtauld Gallery, 2008-2009
no. 1
ill. on p. 35

Wilton, Andrew, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, London, 1979
no. 19
ill.

Finberg, Alexander Joseph, The Life of J.M.W. Turner, R.A., Oxford, 1961
p. 20 ...More

'Turner at Bristol' in 'The Portfolio', 1880
p. 69

Thornbury, Walter, The life of J.M.W. Turner, R.A., London, 1862
vol. I, p. 66

Art Journal, 1860
p. 318

Monserrat Pis Marcos, Caminos Creativos, Xunta de Galicia, 2022
p. 58, p. 280 ...Less

Inscriptions

Inscription: William / TURNER //

Inscription: W / Turner //

Inscription: J6330

Inscription: K1091

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