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

There are two very slight, schematic registers here of large ships at anchor, some with sails furled and others with only the verticals of their masts indicated. The triangular sails of smaller craft passing them provide a basic sense of scale. There is no indication of a setting, but the vessels were probably observed at Cowes or along the adjacent coast of the mainland. For more on studies in this sketchbook relating to the regatta events at Cowes from late July 1827 onwards, see the sketchbook Introduction.