As with the view of Dunstanburgh displayed nearby, Turner based this watercolour of Warkworth Castle on a sketch made during his 1797 tour. He exhibited his watercolours quite widely during his lifetime – more so than his paintings.

He sometimes exhibited lines of poetry next to his works in both mediums. He exhibited this watercolour with words from James Thomson’s The Seasons:

Behold slow setting o’er the lurid grove gains
The full possession of the sky; and on yon baleful cloud
A redd’ning gloom, a magazine of fate Ferment.

Provenance: Victoria and Albert Museum: Ellison Gift

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear
Material: Watercolour with some bodycolour and scraping out, on paper
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851)
Date: 1799

Image Details
Date: 19 June 2024
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/33s
ISO: 400
Licensing: Image of a North East Museums asset. This image cannot be licensed.