Illustated London News

1845 January to June

Page 291 col. 3

Portraits of Eminent Living Painters
J. M. W. Turner

The correspondent sets out some of the early works with a critique in which he states, "His very early works gave no great promise of after excellence in his art. They were views, for the most part, of the exteriors of celebrated buildings."

• "View of the Archbishop's Palace at Lambeth", text includes the exhibited date: 1790 (this was exh. No. 644)
• "The Palace at Eltham" (no date given; this was 1791, 494)
• "Malmesbury Abbey"(no date given; this was 1792, 436)
• "Gate of St. Augustine's Monastery, at Canterbury"(no date given; this was 1793, 316)
• "West Entrance of Peterborough Cathedral"(no date given; this was 1795, 585)
• "Tintern Abbey"(no date given; this was 1794, 402)
• "Lincoln Cathedral"(no date given; this was 1795, 621)

He the writes, "varied occasionally by a"

• "View on the River Avon, at Bristol, near St. Vincent's Rock" (no date; this was exhibited in 1793)
• "The Interior of a Choir" (probably King's College, Oxford 1795, 616)
• "A Rising Squall" (1793)
• "The Pantheon in Oxford Street on Fire" (no date given; this was 1792, 472 but 'after the fire' not 'on fire')

He then moves on to the 1797 exhibition with "Fishermen Coming Ashore At Sunset, Previous To A Gale" and "Fishermen Becalmed Previous to a Storm"; however, the latter was a 1799 exhibit (No. 55) not 1797. It is worthy of note that this article omits 'Moonlight' (1797, 136) which was later and incorrectly credited with being JMW Turner's first oil exhibit.

• The next work mentioned is "Dutch Boats in a Gale - Fishermen Endeavouring to Put their Fish on Board" (1801) and then the 'list' continues with later works.
• In his second paragraph the correspondent describes Turner's early style as 'better of their kind than any of his after productions we can name"; "Fishermen at Sea" (1796 No. 305) and "Guard Ship at the Nore" (possibly Butlin and Joll No. 91; exh 1809). These dates are not mentioned in the text and the presentation suggests that they are works of the same period whereas they are separated by thirteen years.

This article does not distinguish between oils and watercolours.

Although slightly muddled as to order this is article was written in 1845 during Turner's lifetime. In 1845 "The Rising Squall" was in Tasmania, where it had been since 1842 - known as 'Landscape'-, with Rev. Dr Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania.It was exhibited in Tasmania in 1845 and 1858. It returned to London with the Bishop in 1862 and next appeared in public at Christie's July 9th 1864 where it was identified (by reference to Burnet's 'Turner and his works').

In 1852 Turner's obituaries appeared an this article may have influenced them.

There ar parallels in Cuningham and 'Illustrated Exhibitor and Magazine of Art 1852' [page 214]