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JMW TURNER
Events Listed in Support of a Proposition that 'The rising squall, hot wells, from St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' is a canvas

The terms 'first Kent tour' and 'second Kent tour' on this page merely refer to the tour immediately before the 1793 RA Exhibition and the tour immediately after the exhibition respectively.

1791 Bristol Tour (DEFINITIVE) 'Bristol and Malmesbury Sketchbook'; 'Small Self Portrait'; 'Courtauld Watercolour'
Painted or started 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' (exh 1793) similar to the Courtauld watercolour

1792 (January) (DEFINITIVE) Painted 'Pantheon Watercolour';

1792(March - May) (DEFINITIVE) 1792 RA Exhibition; 'Pantheon Watercolour'; 'Malmesbury Abbey'
However, he did not exhibit 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol'. Perhaps this was the intended exhibit but was replaced due to the unexpected need to exhibit the Pantheon watercolour.

1792 (July) (FINBERG) A sketching tour; destination unknown.

1792 (September) (MILLER) Kent first tour outward journey

Foots Cray; there may have been a short visit (MILLER)
Rochester; in view of the distance almost certainly an overnight stay (MILLER)
Canterbury; it is possible that this was the destination of the first tour; sketching and painting took place in Canterbury (ST. AUGUSTINE'S)
'Old Gate Of Canterbury' may have been painted and sold (or gift) here.

1792 (September - later) (NOT DISCUSSED FOR CANVAS ISSUES) Kent first tour destination

Margate; It is more likely that Margate, the home of Elizabeth White, was the destination but this is not an issue as regards the canvas

1792 (September - later) (NOT DISCUSSED FOR CANVAS ISSUES) Kent first tour return journey

Canterbury; sketching and painting took place in Canterbury (ST. AUGUSTINE'S)
'Old Gate Of Canterbury' may have been painted and sold (or gift) here. 'Gate of St. Augustine's Monastery, Canterbury' was probably near completion.
Rochester (MILLER); 'Old Gate Of Canterbury' could have been a gift to Rev. James Douglas or to Margaret Martha.
The purchase of Rochester canvas (NEPHEWS LETTER);
Painting and completion of the Douglas commission, oil on canvas, 'Rochester Castle and the Adjacent Grounds' (NEPHEWS LETTER)
Starting another oil on canvas, subsequently "Nixon commission"
FootsCray; (MILLER) 'Old Gate Of Canterbury' could have been sold or given to Rev. Robert Nixon but we have identified some of the works in his collection and it is not amongst them.
Completed Nixon's picture, 'Rochester Castle with Fishermen Drawing Boats Ashore In A Gale of Wind'

1792 (September/October) (FINBERG) Back in London

From the 1791 Bristol tour JMW Turner still had 'View on the river Avon, near St. Vincent's rock, Bristol' which had not yet been exhibited.
From the First Kent Tour he had 'Gate of St. Augustine's Monastery, Canterbury' and two pieces of canvas.

1792 (September/October or later in the year - possibly into 1793); Working from the Bristol material (which itself indicates that there was not any more suitable Kent first tour material to work from) JMW Turner painted the remaining two pieces of canvas. If he had made any oil sketches for these he would have used paper or panel.

The small self portrait had remained in Bristol . However, he did not need a sketch to work from, just a mirror, on the third piece of canvas he painted his self portrait. His intention for this picture? for Elizabeth White in Margate or for Margaret Martha Douglas in Rochester (discussion)
On the fourth piece of canvas he painted 'The Rising Squall'. His intention for this picture? for the 1793 exhibition (discussion) There is a possibility that he made smaller (oil) sketches as practice pieces for this work on paper or panels

1793 (March)
Turner delivered three works to the Royal Academy for the 1793 Exhibition. Their titles were recorded in Graves' 'List of Contributors' vol 8 page 33:

1793 (Summer, after the exhibition) (MILLER) Commenced the second Kent Tour, the Walker commission. Disposal of the 1793 exhibits: