Turner’s Margate: #02 Schooltime

This is the second instalment of a series examining Turner’s Margate subjects. Here we examine work dating from his early teenage years. The earliest account to associate Turner with Margate is the full-length biography by Walter Thornbury published in 1862 just over a decade after Turner’s death. Thornbury was alert to every morsel of journalistic … Continue reading Turner’s Margate: #02 Schooltime →

Turner’s Margate: #01 Introduction

To view images full-size, right click image and select open in new tab. Close tab to return to this page. Margate winter sunsetPhotograph by Professor Emeritus David Hill, 6 January 2017, 15.55. This article is the first of a series tracing Turner’s exploration of Margate. No other site occupied him over such a long period, … Continue reading Turner’s Margate: #01 Introduction →

Margate and Minster Group: an introduction

This is a group of four watercolours, two of subjects in Margate, and another two views at Minster, a few miles inland. Turner is thought to have attended school in Margate at the beginning of his teenage years. The group is undoubtedly juvenile work. The colouring is rather thin and the drawing slightly wobbly and … Continue reading Margate and Minster Group: an introduction →

St John’s Church, Margate, Kent, c.1788

Pen, ink and watercolour on paper, 12 1/8 x 17 1/8 ins, 308 x 435 mm Private Collection Turner catalogues: Wilton 1; tdb 147 This is one of a series of four very early watercolours all sharing the same provenance, evidently having been gifted by Turner's mother to a Jane Hunt of London who married … Continue reading St John’s Church, Margate, Kent, c.1788 →

A street in Margate, looking down to the harbour, c.1788

Pen ink and watercolour on paper, 10 5/8 x 16 ins, 270 x 407 mm Private Collection Turner catalogues; Wilton 2; tdb 148 This is one of a series of four watercolours all sharing the same provenance, evidently having been gifted by Turner's mother to a Jane Hunt of London who married James Taylor of … Continue reading A street in Margate, looking down to the harbour, c.1788 →

Minster Church, Isle of Thanet, Kent, c.1788

Pen, ink and watercolour on paper, 12 x 16 3/4 ins, 305 x 426 mm Inscribed in watercolour over the porch '1574' Private Collection Turner catalogues: Wilton no.3; tdb149 This is one of a series of four watercolours, two of Margate and two of Minster, all sharing the same provenance, evidently having been gifted by … Continue reading Minster Church, Isle of Thanet, Kent, c.1788 →

Distant View of Minster, Isle of Thanet, Kent, c.1788

Pen, ink and watercolour, 10 7/8 x 14 7/8 ins, 276 x 378 mm Private Collection Turner catalogues: Wilton no.4; tdb 150; This is one of a series of four watercolours, two of Margate and two of Minster, all sharing the same provenance, evidently having been gifted by Turner's mother to a Jane Hunt of … Continue reading Distant View of Minster, Isle of Thanet, Kent, c.1788 →

Rochester, seen across the River Medway, c.1793

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 216 x 281 mm, 8 1/2 x 11 ins Inscribed: Lower right, in a distinctive script, 'Turner'. USA, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Sterling and Francine Clark Institute Turner catalogues: Wilton no.87; tdb237 This is a medium-sized studio watercolour depicting two single-masted seagoing cabin vessels moored in the centre foreground, near some trees … Continue reading Rochester, seen across the River Medway, c.1793 →