1878
Catalogue of Sketches by Turner Lent by The Trustees of the National Gallery to the Ruskin Drawing School, Oxford, London 1878, nos.135 (1st edition), 103b (2nd edition), as ‘The Shepherd on Tornaro. First Study’.
1909
A.J. Finberg, A Complete Inventory of the Drawings in the Turner Bequest, London 1909, vol.II, p.895, as ‘Tornaro: 1st study’.
1993
Jan Piggott, Turner’s Vignettes, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1993, p.96, as ‘Study for ?“Gertrude of Wyoming – The Valley” ’.
This unfinished study of a sun setting (or rising) above a seascape framed by trees and rocks probably relates to Turner’s vignette illustrations of the 1820s and 1830s. However, the loose nature of the tranquil coastal scene means that it is too vague to be conclusively linked to any of the finished vignettes. The absence of human activity means that it could be an experimental backdrop for a number of Turner’s designs related to literary projects.