The Approach to Venice by J.M.W. Turner
Someone recently got quite a surprise when Christie’s told them that their old watercolor is likely by the British master J.M.W. Turner.
Turner created The Approach to Venice, also known as Venice from the Lagoon, around 1840, in the last decade of his life. Since 1930, the watercolor has been owned by the family and descendants of Haddon C. Adams, an engineer who was chief bridge engineer for the British transport ministry for over thirty years. While in Adams’s possession, the watercolor was attributed to the art critic John Ruskin. The family submitted the painting to the Christie’s online appraisal service. After requesting to see the work in person, Christie’s specialists verified the work as by Turner. Rosie Jarvie, who specializes in British drawings and watercolors, remarked that the work’s “strong brushstrokes, economy of line and the palette” tipped off Christie’s that they may be dealing with something else. When inspecting it up close, experts observed that not only was the style consistent with Turner’s Venetian watercolors, but it was on the same kind of paper Turner used for such works.
J.M.W. Turner made many watercolors in his lifetime, most of which remained in his possession when he died in 1851. Therefore, these watercolors were part of the Turner Bequest, which the artist left to the British state and now remains in Britain’s major museums. Some watercolors, though, were not part of Turner’s estate at the time of his death. Works by Turner, especially drawings, sketches, and watercolors, are rare among private collections and often fetch impressive prices at auction. For example, the Turner watercolor Sunrise over the Sea became the star of a 2023 Christie’s sale, selling for £820K (or £1.03 million w/p) against an £800K high estimate. The Approach to Venice will be featured in an upcoming February 4th Old Masters & British Drawings sale in New York with an estimate range of $300K to $500K.