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Creator:
Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851
Title:
St. Catherine's Hill, Guildford, Surrey
Additional Title(s):
Study for ''Picturesque Views in England and Wales'
Date:
1830
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor, graphite, scraping and scratching out on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 11 5/8 x 17 1/2in. (29.5 x 44.5cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Inscribed in pen and black ink, center left: "ichardson"; scratched center: "Thomas' | Toys"; in brushed red watercolor, lower left: "TRY the RED LION | WB not better under | the SUN"; in brushed blue watercolor, lower right: "STAFFORDSHIRE WA"; inscribed in graphite, verso, on mount, upper center: "20 1/8 x 28 1/2"; in graphite, verso, center: "4"; in graphite, verso, center right: (upside down) "26 x 19"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1975.4.1859
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
architectural subject | castle | cathedral | dogs (animals) | fair | genre subject | hill | tents
Associated Places:
England | Europe | Guildford | Surrey | United Kingdom
Access:
On view
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:5473
Export:
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IIIF Manifest:
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As with many of his earlier topographical views, Turner combines antiquarian and modern subject matter: St. Catherine’s Hill was the site of a ruined medieval chapel and also of a thriving local fair. Turner combines both into a single visual whole. Under banks of soaring blue-gray clouds, the seething crowd climbs the hill between the ranks of stalls and attractions. Both culminate in the ruined, brightly illuminated hulk of the ancient chapel. The vertiginously sweeping lines and almost supernatural light give the image a dreamlike quality, forming a striking contrast with the freshness and literalness of the earlier Leeds (displayed nearby).

Gallery label for J. M. W. Turner: Romance and Reality (Yale Center for British Art, March - 29, 2025 - July 27, 2025)

J.M.W. Turner: Romance & Reality (Yale Center for British Art, 2025-03-29 - 2025-07-27) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Turner's Modern World (Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 2022-03-27 - 2022-07-10) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Turner's Modern World (Kimbell Art Museum, 2021-10-17 - 2022-02-06) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Romantic Watercolor : Exhibition Watercolors & Technique (Yale Center for British Art, 2002-10-10 - 2003-01-05) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Turner's Watercolour Explorations - 1818 - 1838 (Tate Britain, 1997-02-25 - 1997-06-08) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Translations - Turner and Printmaking (Yale Center for British Art, 1993-09-29 - 1993-12-05) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Eric M. Lee, Translations : Turner and printmaking, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1993, p. 23, no. 71, NJ18 .T85 L44 1993 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Andrew Wilton, The life and work of J.M.W. Turner, Academy Editions, London, 1979, p. 398, no. 837, NJ18 T85 +W577 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]


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