One of JMW Turner’s earliest oil paintings will be for sale, estimated at £200,000 to £300,000.
Rocks from St. Vincent, Bristolwhen Turner was painted when he was only 17 years old, he was misled for decades. according to guardianthis photo was sold last year, and was the work of a minor 18th-century artist, described as “a follower of Julius Caesar Ibbsson.” Auction house Dreweatts estimates the work is between £600 and £800.
Turner’s signature appears only during post-sale cleaning. Sotheby’s, who will auction the painting next month, said the work now provides new insights into Turner’s early career.
Exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1793 Ascending array Capturing the storm gathering in Avon Gorge, Bristol’s once popular Hot Well Spa (a site that was later covered by the Clifton Suspension Bridge) is in the foreground.
Turner’s treatment of oil here mimics the transparency of watercolor, suggesting innovation, and later defining his mature style. “It rewrites part of Turner’s story,” Sotheby’s senior London director Julian Gascoigne told guardian.
Robert Nixon, the original owner of the painting, was an early supporter of Turner. He probably got it from the artist’s father’s barber shop, and Turner first found the customer. Over time, false attributions have left the work unknown.
After 167 years of absence in public display, Ascending array It will be on display in Sotheby’s London before it will be sold on July 2 later this month. The sale coincides with the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth.
