Study of the head of a Moorhen

Object Description

Executed circa 1815-1820

Object History

A gift from Joseph Mallord William Turner to Miss Amelia Hawksworth (later Mrs Hotham), niece of Walter Fawkes;
The watercolour descended through the ownership of Amelia Hawksworth, daughter of Francis Fawkes (Walter Fawkes’s brother) who was the main compiler of the Ornithological Collection (Miss Hawksworth owned five other bird studies by Turner)

Object Literature

The present watercolour was drawn circa 1815-1820 for Walter Fawkes of Farnley Hall, for his Ornithological Collection Volume IV.
Anne Lyles has confirmed the attribution.
For similar works by JMW Turner see Anne Lyles, The Tate catalogue for the exhibition Turner and Natural History, The Farnley Project, 1988.

Object Details