The Thames above Waterloo Bridge

ca.1835–1840

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Although donated to the United Kingdom as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856, this canvas was first exhibited in 1906, when twenty-one of the artist’s unfinished works that had been in storage at Tate were put on view. It includes indistinct representations of the arches of Waterloo Bridge in the distant center, a ship’s crew at oar on the right, and probably a sooty smoke stack on the left. As it stands, the painting’s moodiness and lack of grandeur defy the conventional approach to a scene focused on a symbol of the nation’s victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: The Thames above Waterloo Bridge
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, London 1775–1851 London)
Date: ca.1835–1840
Geography: Country of Origin Great Britain
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 35 5/8 × 47 5/8 in. (90.5 × 121 cm)
Framed: 44 13/16 in. × 57 3/8 in. × 3 1/4 in. (113.8 × 145.7 × 8.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Tate: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art