JMW Turner's Two 'St Vincent's Rock' Exhibits of 1793
Chapter I: The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol: Evidence that it is an oil exhibited in 1793

'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'
A painting by JMW Turner; exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793

Evidence that it is an oil exhibited in 1793

4. Summary of references between 1845 (Hobart Town Exhibition) and 1905 (Gilbert Redgrave)

During this period 'The Rising Squall' was described as an oil.

• The Art Journal and the two Hobart Town exhibitions also provide an important link in the picture's history viz: that the first owner of this picture was Rev. Robert Nixon of Foots Cray, Kent.
• This picture, an oil, was actually on public display at the auction of 9th July 1864. In 1874 Samuel Redgrave laid to rest the uncertainties of his earlier work and categorically stated that 'The Rising Squall' was an oil. Gilbert Redgrave in his 1892 and 1905 editions (both published during his lifetime) again categorically stated that 'The Rising Squall' was an oil.

5. After Redgrave

This section started with a statement indicating that in modern times 'The Rising Squall' has been regarded as a watercolour-drawing and that this misconception arose out of two historical mistakes.

• a mistake in the 1793 RA Catalogue
• a mistake by CF Bell (1901)

So why have modern analysts concluded that 'The Rising Squall' is a watercolour-drawing?

Why have these mistakes not been detected and corrected?

These mistakes are discussed in Chapters II & III. However, before doing so, it is important to note that none of the references examined in this section tell us whether the picture was oil on paper, oil on panel, or oil on canvas. JMW Turner used all three substrates during the course of his early work.

This chapter continues with evidence which leads to a proposition that 'The Rising Squall' is an oil on canvas and then goes on to discuss 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's Rock, Bristol', the other 1793 St Vincent's Rock painting, the watercolour.[if preferred you can go directly to Chapter II to review the historic mistakes]