Wreckers -- Coast of Northumberland, with a Steam-Boat Assisting a Ship off Shore
Date:
between 1833 and 1834
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
35 5/8 x 47 9/16 inches (90.5 x 120.8 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1978.43.15
Gallery Label:
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-present
