Watercolor and graphite on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 10 x 15 1/4 inches (25.4 x 38.7 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.5379
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
man | woman | tree | landscape | clouds | rocks (landforms)
Currently On View:
On view
Exhibition History:
J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27)J. M. W. Turner - The Foundations of Genius (The Taft Museum, 1986-09-18 - 1986-11-02)
Publications:
Graham Reynolds, Turner, Thames & Hudson, London, 2020, fig. 10, NJ18.T85 R49 2020 (YCBA)Andrew Wilton, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, Academy Editions, London, 1979, p. 316, no. 157, NJ18 T85 +W577 OVERSIZE (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
These watercolors are among Turner’s earliest finished works, made just a few years after he began his formal training. Their dark outlines and delicate washes are typical of the topographical techniques Turner learned. But they demonstrate a unique responsiveness to surface textures, exceptional variety of line, and a strong sense of light and shade. This is even more apparent in A Great Tree, a careful study of an ancient oak in the grounds of a cottage belonging to his early patron, Dr. Thomas Monro. Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)