JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER, R.A.

(1775-1851)

The Bishop's Palace, Salisbury

c.1795

watercolour on paper

28.4 x 35.9 cm

inscribed: W.Turner

P.97

Turner and Sir Richard Colt Hoare were in touch by 1795 as Turner's Isle of Wight sketchbook (Turner bequest XXIV), in use that year, has a note in the inside cover of two drawings of Salisbury ordered by 'Sir Richard Hoare'. These were intended for a history of Wiltshire which Hoare never finished. The original commission was extensive and consisted of two sets each of ten drawings, seventeen of which were completed. They occupied Turner from c.1795 to c.1805. The larger‑sized set concentrated on the Cathedral itself, the smaller, to which this belongs, on views and buildings in the City.

The Palace was the official residence for much of its time for the Bishops of Salisbury from 1220 to 1947. After the Second World War the Bishop decided that the Palace was far too large for his needs, and it now houses Salisbury Cathedral School.

Turner painted the North Front soon after extensive alterations had been made to the Palace by Bishop Shute Barrington (1782-91). He employed Sir Robert Taylor (1714-88) to carry out ‘restoration’ work. Within the space of  three years Taylor had managed to alter almost every part of the Palace. Amongst these alterations a new porch was cut through the North Front (visible on the right of Turner’s picture) to make the north chamber into a grand entrance hall. This porch described as ‘Romantic Gothic’ has been much criticised for clashing in style and scale with the rest of the Medieval building. Above it are the carved and painted arms of Bishop Barrington.

EJ/JM

PROVENANCE:Drawn for Sir Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead  (1758-1838), c.1795; Sir Henry Hoare, sale Christie's 30 July, 4 & 7 August 1883 (in a volume), bought by the Rev. J.H. Ellis; by descent to H.A. Steward, sale Christie's 28 July 1927, no.6, bought by Thos. Agnew &  Sons Ltd; Dr A.W. Young 1932; bought from the Fine Art Society 30 May 1949 by Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, from whom purchased by Gallery, September 1952.

EXHIBITIONS: 77^th Annual Exhibition of Watercolour Drawings, London, Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, 1950, no.30; Paintings by J.M.W. Turner (1775 – 1851). To Commemorate The Centennial of his Death, Toronto, Art Gallery of Toronto, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, 1951, no.31; English Watercolours from the Hickman Bacon and other Collections, Bedford, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, 1952, no.71; English Watercolours 1750 ‑ 1820, Norwich, Castle Museum, 1955, no.42; Watercolours & Drawings from the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Bedford, London, Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, 1962, no.35; English Watercolours from the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Reading, Reading Art Gallery, 1965, no.54.

REFERENCES: Sir W. Armstrong, Turner, 1902, p.275; A.J. Finberg, The Life of J.M.W. Turner R.A., 1961, pp.42, 61; A. Wilton The Life and Work of J.M.W. Turner, 1979, repr., p.322, no.204; E. Shanes, Turner: The Masterworks, 1990, p.52.