Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. (1775-1851)

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SOLD ON BEHALF OF THE SANDYCOMBE LODGE TRUST Lots 74-75 This and the following lot are being sold by the Sandycombe Lodge Trust and were given to the Trust by the present owner of Sandycombe Lodge in Twickenham, Professor Harold Livermore who bought it in the 1940s. Sandycombe Lodge, was built to the designs of J.M.W. Turner by 1812, and used by him as a country retreat from which to plan painting and sketching expeditions in the part of the Thames which gave him constant inspiration. Turner also made it a home for his father, William when he retired from his working life as a barber in Covent Garden. It is an exceptional example of a small Regency villa with many indications that Turner's great friend, John Soane advised in its planning. Professor Livermore formed the Sandycombe Lodge Trust in 2005 to support his wish to bequeath the villa to the nation, as a monument to Turner. The Trust is investigating potential future uses of Sandycombe Lodge including a proposal to provide a residence for artists.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. (1775-1851)

Distant view of Oxford

Details

Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. (1775-1851)
Distant view of Oxford
inscribed 'NO WAY THROUGH HERE' (centre left, on a sign) and with inscription 'Distant view of Oxford by Turner R.A.' (on an old label attached to the backboard)
pencil, pen and grey ink and watercolour
9¼ x 13¼ in. (23.5 x 33.6 cm.)

Provenance

Wentworth B. Beaumont.
Lord Sudeley.
with The Fine Art Society, London, 1972.
The Forbes Collection.

Literature

Sir W. Armstrong, Turner, 1902, p. 269.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Sale room notice

Please note that the view is taken from North Hinksey and not South Hinksey as stated in the catalogue. Turner has omitted Tom Tower of Christ Church College from the view. South Hinksey was one of the routes into Oxford from Sunningwell, where Turner frequently stayed in his early years.

We are grateful to Dr Colin Harrison for this additional information.

Lot Essay

The present drawing is a example of Turner's early work and we are grateful to Andrew Wilton for suggesting a date of circa 1796. Stylistically it is similar to Autumn-sowing grain, see A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, Fribourg and London, 1979, no. 173, which is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art. There are also figure studies, which are stylistically similar in the Studies near Brighton Sketchbook, (Turner Bequest XXX), which dates from circa 1796.

The scene is tranquil, unhurried, a traveller, possibly the artist himself, sits on the ground, holding a sheaf of papers, his satchel beside and passes the time of day with a labourer holding s scythe, his colleague continues to work away behind them, beyond is a distant view of Oxford from North Hinksey showing the Radcliffe Camera, the spire of the university church, Merton College and Magdalen College Tower.

We are grateful to Dr Colin Harrison for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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