The lost masterpiece

Oct 18 2007 by Liz Hands, The Journal

ONE of the North-East’s finest views may soon have a £2.5m price tag slapped on it.

A lost painting of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland by Britain’s greatest watercolourist JMW Turner has surfaced after more than a century.

It will be sold by Sotheby’s on December 5 and is estimated to make between £1.5m and £2.5m.

Turner made a tour of the North of England in 1797, which produced paintings of Gibside, now a National Trust estate near Rowlands Gill, and Dunstanburgh and Bamburgh castles on the Northumbrian coast.

The last time the Bamburgh painting, titled Bamborough Castle , was on the open market was 135 years ago when the Earl of Dudley paid £3,309 for it – then a record for a watercolour.

In about 1890 the painting was sold to the Vanderbilt family in the United States and has not been seen in public for 118 years.

The Vanderbilt family played a significant role in US history, building a shipping and railroad empire during the 19th Century which made them one of the wealthiest families in the world.

Since entering the collection of Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt, the watercolour has passed down through the family.

The painting was listed as untraced in Andrew Wilton’s Catalogue of Turner Watercolours published in 1979.

But now the Vanderbilt descendants are to sell, and Henry Wemyss, head of British watercolours at Sotheby’s, said: “This watercolour fully demonstrates the genius of Turner and it’s a real treat to have the privilege of bringing it to sale. Its recent rediscovery after more than a century away from the public eye, alongside its dramatic and powerful British subject, result in an incredibly rare and special work of art.

“The market in 1872 made it not only the most valuable watercolour, but more expensive than many Turner oils.”

The Graphic Society in 1837 described the painting as “one of the finest watercolour-drawings in the world” and Mr Wemyss said: “I think they got it right. The painting changed hands privately around 1890 and people lost touch with it.”

He said Turner would almost certainly have been hugely impressed with the wild Northumbrian coastline and its castles.

“I think he would have been absolutely bowled over, not least by the sheer size of the castle,” said Mr Weymss. Bamburgh Castle made the last four in Channel 4 TV’s recent series on Britain’s favourite views.

Castle administrator Chris Calvert said: “The castle is extremely popular with artists and photographers.

“Obviously, it would be wonderful to have the Turner painting hanging in the King’s Hall in the castle, but it’s well outside our budget unless we win the lottery or some great benefactor turns up.” In the painting, the castle towers above a storm-lashed sea. “Turner was interested in the strength of nature against the human element and the castle seems aloof from the storm,” said Mr Weymss.

“The re-emergence of the painting is very exciting from an academic point of view. It has been in the United States for more than 100 years but it is in the lap of the gods if it comes back to Britain.

“If it went back to the North-East, it would be an even bigger bonus.”

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