Joseph Mallord William Turner

?Sunset off Margate Pier

c.1840–5

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Medium
Watercolour on paper
Dimensions
Support: 257 × 367 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Reference
D36077
Turner Bequest CCCLXIV 231

Display caption

Throughout his life Turner peppered
his sketchbooks with notes of striking sunrises and sunsets, generally in pencil rather than watercolour. Despite their apparent immediacy, many of his watercolours were actually painted
in the studio. Turner is supposed to
have preferred sunrises as they allowed him more time to observe a greater range of effects. However, the sunsets in several of his major paintings have encouraged us to think chiefly of 'Turner Sunsets'.

Gallery label, September 2004

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