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

These five sketchbooks appear to have been used rather haphazardly over the course of the course of the 1830s and present a rather eclectic mix of subjects and media. Collectively, they include studies of Westminster Abbey and London Bridge but also flights of fancy depicting Piranesi-like vaulted interiors and shipping at sea afflicted by storm and fire. All but The Fire at Sea volume are made up of pencil or chalk drawings on white paper, which instead features watercolour and gouache works on a thick greyish-brown support. By far the most frequently recurring imagery in these volumes is the scenery of Kent, especially the coastal terrain in and around the harbour town of Margate. Only the Life Class (2) volume is without some reference to the Kentish countryside or Thames estuary although its series of rapidly drawn academic nudes has a close counterpart in Life Class (1).