John Ruskin;
by descent to Arthur Severn on the occasion of his marriage to Ruskin's niece (by 1881);
C. Morland Agnew (by 1902);
by descent to Vice-Admiral Sir William Agnew;
Agnew's, London;
Mr and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw (by 1979);
Agnew's, London;
Anonymous sale, Christie's London, 6th June 2002, lot 59;
with Richard Green Ltd

London, Guildhall, Loan Collection of Pictures and Drawings by JMW Turner R.A., 1899, no. 130;
Birmingham, Museum and Art Gallery, Pictures and Drawings by JMW Turner, 1899, no. 42;
London, The Fine Art Society, Exhibition of Ruskin's Water-Colours by Turner, 1900, no. 24;
London, Agnew's, Annual Watercolour Exhibition, 1907, no. 40;
London, Agnew's, Annual Watercolour Exhibition, 1913, no. 31;
London, Agnew's, Annual Watercolour Exhibition, 1919, no. 32;
London, Agnew's, Centenary Loan Exhibition of Watercolours and Drawings by JMW Turner, 1951, no. 44;
London, Agnew's, Annual Watercolour Exhibition, 1979, no. 91;
Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art and Kyoto, Municipal Museum of Art, Turner Exhibition, 1986, p. 187, no. 70

Sir Walter Armstrong, Turner, 1902, pp.276 & 82;
E.T. Cook and A. Wedderburn, The Works of John Ruskin, 1904, vol. XII, p. 430, no. 2;
W.G. Rawlinson and A.J. Finberg,  The Watercolours of JMW Turner, 1909, p. 14;
Andrew Wilton, JMW Turner: His Art and Life, 1979, p. 360, p. 529

 

This report has been prepared by: JANE McAUSLAND London office: Flat 3, 41 Lexington Street, Soho, London W1F 9AJ Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works Accredited member of the Institute of Paper Conservation Jane McAusland Limited trading as Jane McAusland FIIC. Support: Some time ago the sheet of wove Whatman type paper supporting this watercolour has been laid down onto another sheet. This backing sheet has the remains of glue at its edges and is thinned, also at the edges in places where it has been pulled away. There is a paper fold (12 cms long), natural to the making of the sheet, running from the foot edge to the left of the stick, towards the rocks on the left. Medium: The pigments are strong and harmonious, however there is typically some fading from light in the more delicate tints. There is an area of retouching in the central area of the sky about 1.5 cms in diameter and the paper fold mentioned above has been retouched in places. 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 enchanting watercolour, two young ladi🌌es delight in the freedom of a summer morning on a beach at Scarborough.♒ We view the scene from the shade of a secluded little stretch of beach, as the sun beats down onto the nearby cliffs and town beyond.

Relishing a moment of private reཧvelry, a young lady has abandoned her bag and skips joyously along the wet sand, parasol flying behind. Her companion meanwhile earnestly concentrates on the tentative prodding of sand with a stick. Balancಌing carefully, holding the hem of her dress out of the wet sand, this young lady delicately leans forward, playfully harassed by the sea breeze which attempts to unsettle her scarf, hat and composure. Adding to the poetic charm Turner places a star fish in the lower left foreground on the beach, an indication of amusements to be found here.

Unlike Fishing Boats off Hastings (lot 5), in this watercolour there is no direct reference to the commercial side of coastal life. The fishing boats moored in the distant harbour are de-rigged, off duty, and only the outline of their masts is decipherable. The feint form of the lighthouse which stands guard o💮ver the darker waters of the sea and harbour is a subtle indication of more serious times.

The neatly arranged town of Scarborough, nestling at the foot of the hills is reassuringly protected by the solid embrace of the 12-13^th century castle and the prominent presence of the church. This time of pleasure and leisure for two smartly dressed young ladies illustrates the momentary relaxation of the newly emerging 'middle class.' As the standard of living improved for the rising industrialists who lived in the&nbs🧸p;increasingly industrialized cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham, leisure time became an important facet of life. The picturesque nearby towns, a day trip by coach or a holiday retreat for a week or longer, prospered. As this watercolour dated 1818 illustrates, towns such as Scarborough were becoming the location for frivolity, for release from the rigours of working life and from social conformity, literally a breath of fresh air away from the smog of the inner cities.

For this subject of feminine sense and sensibility🦂 Turner has delicately applied the watercolour pigment in a series of overlying washes. Limiting his palette to subtle variations of golden yellow and blue, he uses only minimal amounts of darker pigments to depict details; he delineates the outline of the rocks, emphasises the depth of the sea away from the beach and draws our a♕ttention to the ladies accessories in the lower left hand corner of the scene. Turner fully appropriates the whiteness of the wove paper, purposely scratching off pigment where necessary to delineate the sea's spray, the rolling waves and the clouds. This purposeful technical manipulation enervates the scene with a sense of life and movement wholly suited to the subject matter.      

This view is one of a series which Turner painted depicting Scarborough from t🍬he south.[1]Turner visited Scarborough in late August 1816 and early September when he made a short tour from Walter Fawkes' home Farnley Hall and filled the 'Scarborough' sketchbooks.[2]

This watercolour was acquired afte✅r Turner's death by his devoted exponent John Ruskin in 1878. Later purchased by Thomas Agnew in 1902, they subsequently exhibited it no less than five times over a period of seventy two years at the gallery. Agnew's clearly believed this watercolour demonstrated Turner's poetic charm and excellence as a water-colourist to their clients.

[1] The first recorded views of Scarborough in the 'Smaller Fonthill' Sketchbook c.1799-1802 (TB XLVIII no. 317-318). These studies of Scarborough were subsequently used for fully worked up watercolours. The first dated 1809 Scarborough Castle: boys crab-fishing was painted for Sir William Pilkington (Wallace Collection). The second, Scarborough Town and Castle: Morning: Boys catching crabs, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1811, no. 392 (Private Collection, previously owne♋d by Walter Fawkes).

[2]  (TB II CL and CLI). This watercolour dated 1818 is possibly a later fully worked up composition of the view in the 'Scarborough sketchbook 2' (TB CLI p. 17 verso). Turner later returned to Scarborough as a subject to be widely distributed in engraved from as part of the Ports of England series (no. 751) publish🌞ed by T. Lupꦬton in 1826 (TB CII, p. 18).