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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Rivers of England c.1822-4 > 'Rivers of England' Studies > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Boats in a Squall: ?Study for 'Mouth of the Humber' c.1822-3

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Boats in a Squall: ?Study for 'Mouth of the Humber'’ c.1822-3
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Boats in a Squall: ?Study for ‘Mouth of the Humber’ c.1822–3
D17765
Turner Bequest CCIII H
Pencil on white laid paper affixed to white card, 74 x 191 mm
Stamped in black ‘CCIII–H’ bottom right
Inscribed in pencil ‘CCIII H’ on white card backing, top right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This drawing is part of a group of sketches of boats which were formerly all on one sheet (Tate D17762–D17764, D17766; Turner Bequest CCIII E–G, I).1 Finberg lists the present drawing and others in this group as possible studies for the Rivers of England watercolour The Mouth of the River Humber (Tate D18151; Turner Bequest CCVIII R).2
The vessels in this drawing are arranged in a more linear manner than the previous drawings in this grouping. It also features a man-of-war on the left which is included in the final design for the Humber watercolour. Two vessels, probably Billy-boy barges, are depicted navigating rough waters. As with the other drawings in this grouping, the purpose of this sketch is to determine composition: the orientation of the sails, the effect of the wind billowing through them, the pitch and roll of the shipping on the water.
1
Warrell 1991, p.66 no.77.
2
Finberg 1909, vol.I, p.617.
Verso:
The white card backing is stamped in black with Turner Bequest monogram and ‘CCIII–H’ at bottom left.

Alice Rylance-Watson
March 2013

How to cite

Alice Rylance-Watson, ‘Boats in a Squall: ?Study for ‘Mouth of the Humber’ c.1822–3 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, March 2013, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, August 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-boats-in-a-squall-study-for-mouth-of-the-humber-r1146361, accessed 19 May 2024.