A Twopeny Portfolio: #6 Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire, c.1827?

This is the sixth of twenty-five drawings bought at Anderson & Garland Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne, 21 March 2-17, lot 46 as Various Artists (British 19th Century) Sundry drawings and watercolours, mainly topographical and floral studies, including a grisaille "South Gate Lynn, Norfolk", bearing the signature J.S. Cotman, various sizes, all unframed in a folio. … Continue reading A Twopeny Portfolio: #6 Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire, c.1827? →

England and Wales Revisited: #35 Holy Island, Northumberland

This is the second instalment of a new series of articles in which I will revisit each of the 96 sites depicted by J.M.W.Turner in his series of engravings ‘Picturesque View in England and Wales’. These were published over a period of ten years between 1827 and 1837 but represent subjects drawn from his entire … Continue reading England and Wales Revisited: #35 Holy Island, Northumberland →

England and Wales Revisited: # 34 Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

J.T.Willmore after J.M.W.Turner R.A.Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1832Etching and engraving, image 164 x 233, on plate 246 x 302, printed in black ink on india paper, 241 x 298, bonded to backing sheet of heavyweight white wove paper, not watermarked 399 x 562 mmInscribed in neat script centred below image, ‘Engrvd by J.T.Willmore from a Drawing … Continue reading England and Wales Revisited: # 34 Alnwick Castle, Northumberland →

A newly-identified Val d’Aosta subject by Turner

Sometimes Sublime Sights appear completely out of the blue. The well-known scholar Timothy Wilcox recently sent me a photograph of the watercolour reproduced below. It forms part of an exceptional private collection which Tim is cataloguing for publication in due course. It appears to have been acquired as a Turner by an ancestor of the … Continue reading A newly-identified Val d’Aosta subject by Turner →

J.M.W.Turner: Ehrenbreitstein from Neuendorf

This article offers a new identification for a watercolour exhibited in the recent ‘Turner et la Couleur’ exhibition at the Hotel de Caumont, Aix en Provence 4 May – 18 September 2016 and afterwards in ‘J M W Turner: Adventures in Colour’ at Turner Contemporary, Margate, 8 October 2016 – 8 January 2017. Its title … Continue reading J.M.W.Turner: Ehrenbreitstein from Neuendorf →

Update: Turner and Sisteron

One of the Turner highlights of 2016 was Ian Warrell’s splendid exhibition of ‘Turner et la Couleur’ which showed at the Hotel de Caumont, Centre d’Art at Aix en Provence 4 May to 18 September, and then as J M W Turner: Adventures in Colour’ [and STILL, FOR ONE MORE WEEK ONLY] at Turner Contemporary, … Continue reading Update: Turner and Sisteron →

Update: Turner and Heidelberg – a newly identified source for the Tate painting

Since completing part #6 of the SublimeSites.co series on Turner and Heidelberg, I have discovered a potential literary source for the subject of the Tate oil painting. In part #6, I suggested that the composition of the painting was based on a sketch in the 'Mountain Fortress' sketchbook in the Turner Bequest at the Tate … Continue reading Update: Turner and Heidelberg – a newly identified source for the Tate painting →

Turner and Scotland #1: Ben Arthur from near Ardgartan

Not all my Turnering goes according to plan. This is an interim report on a new identification for a watercolour at the British Museum. Currently called ‘Mountain study, a view in north Wales (?)’ this can now be confirmed instead as a view of Ben Arthur from the entrance to Glen Croe above Ardgartan. On … Continue reading Turner and Scotland #1: Ben Arthur from near Ardgartan →

In Turner’s Footsteps at Heidelberg: Part 6

REVISED 14 April 2016 (DH) towards end, to discuss recently discovered poetic source This post concludes the essay begun on 19 October 2015 and continued on 18, 20 and 23 November 2015 and 17 January 2016. In part #1, I followed in the footsteps of Turner’s comprehensive exploration of Heidelberg in 1833. In part #2, … Continue reading In Turner’s Footsteps at Heidelberg: Part 6 →

In Turner’s Footsteps at Heidelberg: Part 1

On 27 February 2015 I announced that the Pilkington Anglo-Japanese Cultural Foundation had commissioned a SublimeSites exploration of Turner’s associations with Heidelberg. I promised to visit the site in May but then remembered that Cecilia Powell had discovered in Turner and Germany (1995, p.74) the actual dates on which Turner stayed in Heidelberg in 1844; … Continue reading In Turner’s Footsteps at Heidelberg: Part 1 →