Lot 206
  • 206

JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER, R.A. | St. Mawes, Cornwall

Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 GBP
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Description

  • Joseph Mallord William Turner
  • St. Mawes, Cornwall
  • Watercolour over traces of pencil, heightened with stopping out, scratching out and gum arabic
  • 291 by 420 mm

Provenance

James Bagnall, J.P., D.L. (1804-1872), of Meyrick House in West Bromwich, Staffordshire,
his executor’s sale, London, Christie's, 1 June 1872, lot 16, bt. Vokins;
with Vokins, London;
Joseph Harrison, J.P., D.L. (d. 1878), of Galligreaves Hall and Salmesbury Hall, Lancashire,
his sale, London, Christie's, 2 May 1881, lot 111, bt. Wigzell;
George James (d. 1897),
his executor’s sale, London, Christie's, 10 April 1897, lot 92, bt. Tooth (mistakenly catalogued as engraved for the South Coast Series);
with Arthur Tooth and Son, London;
Senator William Andrews Clark (1839-1925), Washington, D.C., by 1908,
by family descent until 2017

Literature

A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, Fribourg 1979, p. 396, no. 823;
E. Shanes, Turner’s Picturesque Views in England and Wales 1825-1838, London 1983, p. 158, no 99;
S. Smiles, 'Picture Notes', Turner Studies, His Art and Epoch 1775-1851, vol. 8, no. 1, 1988, pp. 53-57; 
E. Shanes, Turner’s England 1810-38, London 1990, p. 274, no. 252

Engraved:

by J.H. Kermit for Picturesque Views in England and Wales, 1830

Condition

Condition report by JANE McAUSLAND: Support: This watercolour by Turner appears to be on a sheet of Whatman type paper laid down onto a board. Overall this paper appears to be in a very good condition with only a few small imperfections: a surface loss on the upper left-hand side, a small edge crumple lower left and two small losses to the edge upper right; there is a small brown liquid stain in the centre on the 'hillside' and another on the lower right corner and in places at the top edge. The sky shows a little surface dust or dirt. Medium: The medium has some typical drop back in tonality, but no losses in the delicate tints and the condition is very good. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

St. Mawes, Cornwall was last seen in public in 1897 and until recently has been considered ‘untraced’ by Turner scholars. Its inclusion in this sale is therefore undoubtedly an event of considerable significance and provides collectors with an exceptionally rare opportunity. The watercolour dates to circa 1828 and shows Turner working at his most energetic and fluid. He has positioned himself on the beach at St. Mawes, a harbour village on the south coast of Cornwall. It is high summer and late afternoon, the shadows are long and the scene is flooded with a golden light. He looks west, towards the mouth of the Falmouth estuary, which is guarded by the imposing Tudor structures of Pendennis Castle on the left and St. Mawes Castle on the right.

Despite this dramatic setting, the real action takes place in the foreground, where Turner - with extraordinary dexterity - has brought to life the pilchard industry, which, in the summer months, was of vital importance to the local economy. The beach is awash with piles of fish, whose bluey-silvery scales glisten in the warm sunlight. Turner has packed the scene with a multitude of men, women and children, each of whom are full of individuality and character. While some simply observe the scene, smoking clay pipes or enjoying the warm sunshine, most are engaged in the frenetic activity of washing, sorting, salting and packing the precious commodity. On the left a ‘lugger’ is already heavily laden with barrels, which are destined for the merchant brig that is anchored just off shore.

Turner, who was a keen fisherman himself, seems to have particularly relished conjuring up this scene and he has deployed the full range of his painterly techniques in order to capture the bustling atmosphere. He has clearly worked at some speed, and yet he also exhibits a masterful control of the medium. Of particular note is his rendering of the different materials, textures and surfaces that the subject presents. While, for example, the rose-coloured hues of the castles and hillsides are largely made up of broad watercolour washes, the heaps of slippery fish are conceived through a combination of vigorous scratches and flicks of dry pigment.

Turner visited St. Mawes in 1811 as part of his wide-ranging tour of the West Country. He left London in the middle of July and travelled through Hampshire and Wiltshire, before heading for the Dorset coast. From there he journeyed west into Devon and upon reaching the busy seaport of Plymouth, he paused for a week. Well rested, he then continued on into Cornwall and soon found himself first at St. Mawes and then in neighbouring Falmouth, where he stayed for three nights. After reaching Land’s End, he turned for home and, having traversed the north coasts of both Cornwall and then Devon, he was back in London by mid-September. St. Mawes and its people evidently played on his mind as, in 1812, he exhibited an oil painting of the subject at the Royal Academy and then, just over a decade later, in circa 1823, he painted a watercolour, from a different view-point to the present work, in which he showed the pilchard fishermen in harder times.1

The present watercolour was engraved in 1830 and the print was included in Charles Heath’s and Turner’s joint publishing project which became known as the Picturesque Views in England and Wales Series (for more information on this important group of watercolours, please see lot 201).

By 1908, the watercolour had left England for America and entered the legendary collection of William Andrews Clark. Born in Pennsylvania, in humble circumstances, Clark was to become one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He had interests in, amongst others activities gold-mining, railroads, newspapers and copper and in 1899 he was elected a Senator. Alongside his business and political interests, he formed one of the great collections of fine and decorative arts and upon his death he bequeathed over two hundred works of art to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. The present work has descended within Clarke’s family until today, and it has not been seen in public since the beginning of the twentieth century.

1. The oil painting is entitled St. Mawes at the Pilchard Season and is held at Tate Britain, while the watercolour, St. Mawes, Cornwall, resides at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven