Walter Fawkes was both an important patron and a good friend of J M W Turner, and the artist made regular visits to Fawkes’ home, Farnley Hall, from 1808 to 1824 [1], using it as a base for drawing tours of sites in Yorkshire. Turner also enjoyed the shooting that was offered on the estate and there was also the prospect of fishing, a favourite pastime that allowed him the opportunity to make observations of water bodies and the land surrounding them.
Although best known as a painter of landscapes, in both watercolour and oils, Turner was also fascinated by architecture and the interiors of buildings, so it was natural that he made paintings in, and around, Farnley Hall [1]. Less well known are the watercolours that he made of fish and of birds and it is likely that all of these were made while Turner was staying at the Hall in visits from 1820-1824. Most were used as illustrations for the Farnley Hall Ornithological Collection, now owned by Leeds City Museum, and the subject of a splendid book by David Hill [1, and see above]. A few of the bird paintings were retained by Turner (and are part of the Turner Bequest), although the basis for his decision is not clear.
In the painting of fish (above, upper) we see two tench, a trout and a perch that reflect Turner’s interest in all types of fishing, while a small fish is shown captured by a heron (above, lower). The detail of the bird’s feathers show that this unlikely to have been painted from life, but from a bird that had been shot, possibly to then be stuffed and added to a cabinet, a practice that was very popular at the time [2]. The painting of a teal (below, upper) was obviously from a bird that had been shot – no teal flies with its head at this angle! Painting from life presented Turner with more of a challenge, since examination of the plumage in detail was then much more difficult [1]. An example is that of the goldfinch (below, lower).
These paintings show Turner’s skill as an artist, but they are quite different in feel to the majority of his work. He was less interested in detail, and in portraiture, than in conveying feeling through landscape, whether terrestrial or marine, and getting to the essence of the sublime. It is the large number of paintings that explore this theme that make him so admired, but the animal portraits show us that, as an artist, he could “do it all”.
[1] David Hill (1988) Turner’s Birds Oxford, Phaidon Press
[2] https://rwotton.blogspot.com/2023/03/seth-mosley-and-natural-history.html
The illustrations of the fish and the teal are from the Turner Bequest https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/1819-1829-italy-and-after-r1130131
All other illustrations are from the Farnley Hall Ornithological Collection held by Leeds City Museum
