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

D25135, D25138, D25152, D25155, D25169, D25180, D25216, D25447, D25487, D36329, D40520
Turner Bequest CCLXIII 13, 16, 30, 33, 47, 58, 94, 324, 364, CCCLXV 38

This section comprises ‘colour beginnings’ associated with compositions used for steel engraving in annual volumes of the Keepsake; for a discussion of the function of such compositional colour studies in general, see the Introduction to the ‘England and Wales Colour Studies c.1825–39’ section.1 Produced for the Christmas market between 1828 and 1856, the Keepsake was founded by the engraver Charles Heath, who was also involved with the Turner’s Annual Tour (‘Rivers of France’) volumes (1832–4) and the ongoing Picturesque Views in England and Wales,2 as an illustrated anthology of prose and poetry intended to appeal to a non-specialist readership.3

Like the small-format volumes of poetry Turner illustrated around this period (see Meredith Gamer’s ‘Vignette Watercolours c.1826–1843’), these relatively modest but well-produced books contributed to the dissemination of Turner’s imagery and reputation among a wider public than metropolitan exhibition-goers and his established patrons. Turner contributed seventeen designs between 1828 and 1837: one each in 1828, 1836 and 1837, and two for each of the years between. The last four (1835–7) were in vignette form.4 None of the finished watercolours are in the Turner Bequest or the wider Tate Collection, but there are individual impressions of all the published designs, with detailed notes of their publishing histories in their respective catalogue entries.5 Some were republished in 1836 in Heath’s Gallery of British Engravings.6

Along with many watercolours connected with the ongoing Picturesque Views in England and Wales (see the ‘England and Wales Colour Studies c.1825–39’ and ‘England and Wales c.1826–38’ sections), three Italian views were exhibited by Heath at London’s Egyptian Hall in the summer of 1829, apparently intended for a complementary Picturesque Views in Italy project due for publication in 1830, which came to nothing.7 Meanwhile, one had already been reproduced in 1828’s Keepsake, and the two others followed in the 1829 edition. This demonstrates the interplay between Heath’s various projects, and shows his readiness to publish French and Italian scenes in particular in different contexts.8 Many of the designs have a light-hearted and decorative quality to their subjects and treatment suitable for a general audience.9 Sales during the first decade of the Keepsake series ranged between 7.000 and 15,000 copies.10

The first checklist below sets out the relationship between finished watercolours, their respective Keepsake engravings and the ‘colour beginnings’ gathered here.

There are also two ‘colour beginnings’ of French subjects which have been tentatively connected with the Keepsake, although no completed designs are known: Angers (Tate D25135; Turner Bequest CCLXIII 13) and Rouen (D25216; CCLXIII 94). Another, of Tours (D25148; CCLXIII 26), has also been discussed as possibly linked to the Keepsake;27 see John Chu’s entry in the ‘Northern France c.1826–32’ section.

There were nine other published designs, including three French, one German, one Swiss, and one British topographical subjects, the latter by way of depicting a major contemporary event. They do not have any identified ‘colour beginnings’ linked to them, and are not discussed further in this context. Additional information will be found in the entries for the associated engravings: