Joseph Mallord William Turner R.A.

Walter Fawkes, Farnley Hall, Yorkshire;
by descent to F.H. Hawkes;
with Agnew's, London, by 1912;
with Scott and Fowles, New York, by 1914;
Monnell, U.S.A, by 1937;
Brian Pilkington, his sale, Sotheby's, London, 21
November 1984, lot 117;
with Leger Galleries, London;
Dr. Marc Fitch, The Fitch Collection, London, by 1988;
Polly Peck International, PLC, London;
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, New York, 1 November 1995, lot 38;
with Richard Green Ltd.;
Guy and Myriam Ullens, their sale in these Rooms, 4 July 2007, lot 13 (bt. by the present owner)

London, Grosvenor Place, Collection of  Watercolour Drawings in the possession of Walter Fawkes Esq., 1819, no. 29;
Leeds, Music Hall, Leeds Public Exhibition in Aid of the Mechanics Institute, 1839, no. 72;
London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 1886, no. 38;
London, Lawrie & Co.; The Farnley Hall Collection of Pictures and Drawings by J.M.W. Turner R.A., 1902, no. 36;
London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 1906, no. 2092;
London, Agnew's, Watercolour Drawing by J.M.W. Turner, R.A., 1913, no. 5;
York, York City Art Gallery, Turner in Yorkshire, 1980, no. 89;
London, Tate Gallery, 1977-82, on loan;
London, Leger Galleries, The Fitch Collection, a record of the major English watercolours and drawings collected by Dr. Marc Fitch, 1988, no. 38

Sir Walter Armstrong, Turner, 1902, p. 243;
A.J. Finberg, "Turner's Watercolour at Farnley Hall", The Studio, 1912, no. 17, pl. I;
A. Wilton, Turner in the British Museum, 1975, p. 41, no. 19;
J. Russell and A. Wilton, Turner in Switzerland, 1976, p. 135, no. 19;
A. Wilton, J.M.W. Turner: His Art and Life, 1979, p. 343;
R. Green, Turner in Yorkshire, 1980, p. 58;
M. Butlin and E. Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner; 1984, p. 35. no. 46;
D. Hill, Turner in the Alps: The Journey Through France & Switzerland in 1802, 1992, pp. 48-49

Support Turner has used a sheet of wove Whatman paper with the watermark showing lower left. The sheet is slightly time stained and also has a dark mount stain towards the edges and beyond this a lighter area, which demonstrates the original colour of the sheet. There is a small in indentation in the sky upper left. Medium The colours are very fresh and bright. Note: This work was viewed outside studio conditions.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In this tranquil scene a young shepherdess rests upon a rock, the midday sun beats down from high above and goats peacefully graze and water nearby. On this particularly inviting and peaceful spot on a bend of the Arve river, at the entrance to the Alps, this pastoral idyll drawn in or soon after 1811, shows no trace of the recent ravages of war which had swept through the Swiss Alps. The perfect form of the bridge and the outline of the town in the middle distance represent an undisturbed timelessness to this location.

Turner made a number of studies of this area in the Savoy, once known as the symbolic 'gateway' to the Alps which demonstrate not only his delight in the views, but also suggest its importance to him. Seperating this watercolour from the drawings is the brilliant effect of a baking hot sun on stone in the near foreground, the startling white of the town in the middle distance shimmering in the heat and the vivid blue of the mountains beyond. However, it is the adorable dozing sheperdess in the near foreground which transfixes our gaze.

Turner's admiration for Old Master paintings is well documented and here, the distinctive pose of the shepherdess recalls contemplative drovers in the idyllic pastoral landscapes of 17^th Century Dutch artists such as Aelbert Cuyp. Later also appearing in the picturesque landscapes of Thomas Gainsborough, a reclining drover positioned in the near foreground was an intentional aesthetic device to draw the viewer into the landscape through a process of sympathetic identification. This is surely also Turner's intention in this scene. Relaxing beside a riverbank was something Turner knew all about as a keen fisherman in his spare time. By 1811, the approximate date of his watercolour, he had also just moved to Twickenham to indulge his passion for a rural, riverside existence, and to retreat from the hustle and bustle of central London.

Purchased by Turner's devoted patron Walter Fawkes this work was displayed at the celebrated exhibition of 1819 at Fawkes's London home, 45 Grosvenor Place. One visitor admiringly exclaimed of Turner's watercolours; 'by the magic of his pencil we are brought to regions of such bold and romantic magnificence and introduced to effects of such rare and awful grandeur that criticism is baffled.'

Indeed, the 'magic' of  Turner's pencil can be found in the delightful arrangement of his scene. It is not an exact topographical record but an idyllic pictorial representation of Alpine scenery, a landscape both familiar and inviting. This watercolour demonstrates a turning point in Turner's confidence as an artist and his ability to liberate his works from reliance upon slavish topographical imitation towards a new manner of representation where value is based upon colour and poetic possibilities. Turner's gradual revolution in the approach to watercolour landscape painting slowly gained recognition, one journalist noted at the time that Turner heralded the start of a new 'epoch in the whole history of art'.