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

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1819-29 Italy and after > Figures on a Beach c.1826-45 > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Figures, Including a Fisherman Looking out to Sea c.1826-40

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Figures, Including a Fisherman Looking out to Sea’ c.1826-40
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Figures, Including a Fisherman Looking out to Sea c.1826–40
D24619
Turner Bequest CCLIX 54
Chalk, crayon and watercolour on blue wove paper, 138 x 191 mm
Blind-stamped with Turner Bequest monogram below right of centre
Inscribed in red ink ‘54’ bottom right
Stamped in black ‘CCLIX 54’ bottom right
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Only the fisherman in a characteristic sou’wester hat at the bottom right is fully developed, standing purposefully with hands on hips and apparently looking out to sea. Those beyond are probably other fishermen or women. See the Introduction for other examples.
As discussed there, this is one of the subjects of figures by the sea which Ian Warrell tentatively suggested as linked to Brighton around 1827, while noting that they could equally well show scenes in England or France on other occasions.1
1
See Warrell 1989, pp.120, 123 note 114.
Verso:
Blank; inscribed in pencil ‘54–68’ top left; inscribed in pencil ‘D24619’ bottom right. There is a border of white paper or tape, indicating that the sheet was formerly mounted.

Matthew Imms
December 2015

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Figures, Including a Fisherman Looking out to Sea c.1826–40 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, December 2015, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, November 2016, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-figures-including-a-fisherman-looking-out-to-sea-r1182561, accessed 21 November 2024.