Wreckers -- Coast of Northumberland, with a Steam-Boat Assisting a Ship off Shore

Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, British, Wreckers -- Coast of Northumberland, with a Steam-Boat Assisting a Ship off Shore, exhibited 1834

Print Record | Large Print Record

Creator:: Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851
Title:: Wreckers -- Coast of Northumberland, with a Steam-Boat Assisting a Ship off Shore [1834, Royal Academy of Arts, London, exhibition catalogue]
Date:: exhibited 1834
Materials & Techniques:: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:: 35 5/8 x 47 9/16 inches (90.5 x 120.8 cm), Frame: 48 1/4 × 60 1/4 × 3 1/2 inches (122.6 × 153 × 8.9 cm)
Credit Line:: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:: Public Domain
Accession Number:: B1978.43.15
Classification:: Paintings
Collection:: Paintings and Sculpture
Link to Frame:: B1978.43.15FR
Subject Terms:: beach | castle | danger | gangs | landscape | marine art | men | rocks (landforms) | sea | seascape | ships | shipwreck | shore (landform) | steamboat | waves (natural events) | wind | wreckers (people)
Associated Places:: Dunstanburgh Castle | England | North Sea | Northumberland | United Kingdom
Access:: On view at the Yale University Art Gallery
Link:: https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:45
Export:: XML
IIIF Manifest:: JSON

Wreckers captures J. M. W. Turner’s recurrent exploration of the conflict between human culture and the power of nature. A masted ship flounders off the wild coast of Northumberland while a steamship tries desperately to come to its aid. Meanwhile, wreckers on the beach wait with ropes and nets to plunder whatever of value washes to shore. The old castle of Dunstanburgh looms menacingly in the background, battered by the storm but unyielding. Turner exhibited Wreckers at the Royal Academy in 1834 and again at the British Institution in 1836, when it was described by one critic as “a very great picture . . . a production of true genius.” It was bought in 1844 by Turner’s friend Elhanan Bicknell.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016

Wreckers were gangs who, otherwise permitted by law to take possession of scavenged debris and goods from wrecked ships, often lured them ashore by setting false lights near dangerous rocks. The danger was real, and numerous wrecks were deliberately caused and innocent lives lost as a result. The theme of shipwreck was a lifelong fascination for Turner, a sign of the ultimate helplessness and ignominy of man in the face of the cold power of the elements. But this scene may relate to an incident he himself witnessed in 1831 on his way home from a tour of Scotland. The castle in the background is Dunstanborough. After it was exhibited at the R.A., the picture was praised by the critic of the Spectator as combining “the truth of nature with the splendour of Turner.”

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2007

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