Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A.

William Wells of Redleaf, Kent (1768-1847),

by descent to his great-nephew, William Wells (1818-1889) of Holmewood Hall, Peterborough and Redleaf, Kent,

his executor’s sale, London, Christie’s, ‘Catalogue of the celebrated collection of Ancient and Modern Pictures formed many years ago by that distinguished patron of art William Wells Esq’, 12 May 1890, lot 180 as 'View in Sussex';

Thomas Woolner, R.A. (1825-1892),

by descent to his daughter, Phyllis Woolner (1874-1960) of Boreham House, Hailsham, Sussex,

with Agnew’s, London, by 29 March 1926, as 'View in Sussex', 

by whom sold to Miss Deakin, possibly Miss Mabel Deakin (1892-1977), 21 November 1927,

with Agnew’s, London, by 1928,

by whom sold to T.N. Brown, 1929, 

by descent to the present owner 

A. Wilton, The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, Fribourg 1979, p. 317, no. 162, as 'View in Sussex' 

This lyrical study of a tree has remained in the same family collection since 1929. Beautifully preserved and painted on a considerable scale, an early 20^th century inscription, which perhaps is a transcription of writing hidden on the verso of the sheet itself, states that the view is taken from ‘Marsh Farm.’ The work is very close, stylistically, to the watercolours that Turner made during his tour to the Isle of Wight in the summer of 1795, and indeed there is a Marsh Farm there, near to the village of St Helens, at the eastern end of the island.¹

Although it may not yet be possible to pin-point the precise location of this watercolour, indeed in the past it has been described as a 'view in Sussex', Turner’s love of trees was a strong one and in the years immediately following his visit to the island, in 1796 and 1797, he was to create a number of beautiful studies of beech trees both at Cassiobury Park, near Watford in Hertfordshire and Norbury Park near Mickleham in Surrey. It is not inconceivable that the present sheet relates in some way to that body of work.² 

Turner's composition is both wonderfully simple and highly sophisticated. His placement of the tree to the extreme left allows its elongated and elegant boughs to extend right across the page. Beyond, the rolling hills lead down to a village, possibly St Helens, with its square-towered church and position right on the coast. The sea and foreground have been left unfinished, save for - in the latter’s case - Turner’s inclusion of both farm hands and cattle, all conceived with spirited and rapidly applied strokes of his pencil.

This watercolour has a long and distinguished history. Its first owner, who may well have acquired it directly from Turner himself, was William Wells, a successful shipyard owner who, in 1806, acquired the Redleaf Estate, near Penshurst in Kent. A bachelor, Wells accumulated an important collection of paintings, including Van Dyck’s celebrated triple portrait of King Charles I, which he sold to King George IV in 1822.³ As well as collecting Old Masters, Wells was a trustee of the National Gallery and a director of the British Institution. A keen supporter of contemporary artists, he was a particularly important patron of Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873). On his death his estate, and this work, passed to his great-nephew, William Wells (1818-1889), a Liberal politician who served as Member of Parliament for Peterborough twice.

We are very grateful to both Ian Warrell and Neil Jeffares for their help when cataloguing this lot.

^1. See Tate Britain, TB XXIV (Isle of Wight Sketchbook)

^2. For examples of Turner's work at Cassiobury and Norbury Park, please see: sale, London, Sotheby’s, 14 July 2015, lot 157 ‘Beech Trees at Cassiobury Park' (£104,500) and National Gallery of Ireland: Beech Trees at Norbury Park, Leatherhead, Surrey (NGI.2409)

^3. Royal Collection, RCIN 404420