Joseph Mallord William Turner R.A. (1775-1851) View of Box Hill

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

View of Box Hill, Surrey

Watercolour over pencil

12.5 x 20.5cm; 5 x 8in

Provenance:

Sotheby's, London, 17th November 1988, Lot 28

This sketch by Turner relates closely to the larger view which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, but from a slightly more distant perspective. Turner visited Box Hill around 1796 and there is another view, from a similar angle to this, now in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Topographically it is very similar, but lacking the foreground details of trees and shrubbery in the Canada work, which indicates that this may have been an initial study.