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Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Wreck on the Goodwin Sands: Sunset
Watercolor and traces of black chalk and pencil
Inscribed, in pencil, And [dolphins?] play around the wreck / The man's [hope?] holding all that hoped / admits [work? waste?] of the almighty's hand [feeling? failing?] fallacy Hope [illegible] far sail / Wreck on the Goodwins
9 1/16 x 13 1/16 inches (230 x 332 mm)
Bequest of Alice Tully; 1996.67
See CORSAIR catalog record for this item »

This sheet is probably from one of Turner's sketchbooks, quite possibly from one of much the same size that he used in 1845. Both the extreme freedom with which the watercolor is applied and the color of the sky support the late dating of this work. The Goodwin Sands are off the Kentish coast opposite Deal and Walmer, and it is likely that Turner spent some time at Margate in 1845 before a short visit to France. Additional interest is provided by some lines in Turner's hand that must come from his manuscript poem "Fallacies of Hope."

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