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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Farnley Hall and Yorkshire c.1808-24 > Scarborough 1 Sketchbook > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Waves Breaking, Scarborough c.1816-18

Image 1 of 2
Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Waves Breaking, Scarborough’ c.1816-18
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 5 Recto:
Waves Breaking, Scarborough c.1816–18
D11950
Turner Bequest CL 31
Pencil on white wove paper, 117 x 180 mm
Inscribed by an unknown hand in red ink ‘31’ bottom left, descending vertically
Stamped in black ‘CL 31’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
This sketch is the second study of breaking waves in this sketchbook, preceded (as folio 4) by D11951; Turner Bequest CL 32. It was probably taken from a similar viewpoint near the jetty of Scarborough Harbour, in this case looking north-east, out to sea. Finberg and Agnew’s drew attention to the similarity of the waves in these two sketches to those depicted in a finished watercolour of Scarborough dated 1818 (private collection).1 However, the resemblance is general rather than specific.
1
Wilton 1979, p.360 no.529.
Verso:
Blank, except for an inscription by ?John Ruskin in red ink ‘168 I’ bottom left (see notes to folio 3, D11945; Turner Bequest CL 26) , and by an unknown hand in blue pencil ‘225’ towards centre.

David Hill
September 2008

How to cite

David Hill, ‘Waves Breaking, Scarborough c.1816–18 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, September 2008, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, September 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-waves-breaking-scarborough-r1146938, accessed 22 July 2024.