Oil paint on canvas
Cumbria
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on loan
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Turner Bequest
Oil paintings
Collection
Turner owned by Tate
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-mallord-william-turner-558" aria-label="More by Joseph Mallord William Turner" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Joseph Mallord William Turner</a>
Morning amongst Coniston Fells Cumberland
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
adults
animals: mammals
Coniston Old Man
Cumbria
England
England, Northern
figure
gorge
Lake District
landscape
mist
morning
mountain
people
places
river
sheep
times of the day
UK counties
UK countries and regions
UK natural features
water: inland
waterfall
weather
<p>The mountain is Coniston Old Man, Cumbria, which Turner saw in 1797. This was the first picture that he elevated by quoting poetry in the Royal Academy catalogue. He chose lines from Milton's ‘Paradise Lost’, describing the 'mists and exhalations' of the atmosphere at sunrise. These shifting airs and lights, and flock of sheep running before them, give the landscape a natural drama and intensity. A reviewer in 1798 remarked ‘This artist's works discover a strength of mind which is not [sic] often the concomitant of much longer experience: and their effect in oil or on paper is equally sublime.’</p><p><em>Gallery label, March 2010</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
13 August 2001 – 23 June 2002
2002-06-23
13 August 2001 – 23 June 2002
2002-06-23
2001-08-13
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2001-08-13
Painting Landscape and History
Collection based display
7 November 2003 – 8 February 2004
2004-02-08
7 November 2003 – 8 February 2004
2004-02-08
2003-11-07
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Birmingham, UK)
http://www.bmag.org.uk
2003-11-07
Turner's Britain
Loan-out
4 September 2004 – 9 January 2005
2005-01-09
4 September 2004 – 9 January 2005
2005-01-09
2004-09-04
Statens Museum for Kunst (Copenhagen, Denmark)
2004-09-04
Turner and Constable and their European Contemporaries
Loan-out
15 June 2005 – 4 September 2005
2005-09-04
15 June 2005 – 4 September 2005
2005-09-04
2005-06-15
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2005-06-15
A Picture of Britain
Exhibition
1 July 2006 – 31 October 2006
2006-10-31
1 July 2006 – 31 October 2006
2006-10-31
2006-07-01
Wordsworth Trust (Grasmere, UK)
http://www.wordsworth.org.uk
2006-07-01
Loan to displays
Loan-out
18 August 2009 – 14 November 2010
2010-11-14
18 August 2009 – 14 November 2010
2010-11-14
2009-08-18
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2009-08-18
Sublime
Collection based display
2 June 2011 – 22 April 2012
2012-04-22
2 June 2011 – 11 September 2011
2011-09-11
2011-06-02
Bucerius Kunst Forum (Hamburg, Germany)
http://www.buceriuskunstforum.de
1 October 2011 – 8 January 2012
2012-01-08
2011-10-01
National Museum (Krakow, Poland)
28 January 2012 – 22 April 2012
2012-04-22
2012-01-28
Turner Contemporary (Margate, UK)
2011-06-02
Turner and the Elements
Loan-out
6 July 2019 – 2 May 2021
2021-05-02
6 July 2019 – 13 October 2019
2019-10-13
2019-07-06
Kunstmuseum (Luzern, Switzerland)
http://www.kunstmuseumluzern.ch
8 November 2019 – 26 January 2020
2020-01-26
2019-11-08
LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Westfälisches (Munster, Germany)
http://landesmuseum.lwl.org
20 February 2020 – 7 September 2020
2020-09-07
2020-02-20
Frist Center for the Visual Arts (Nashville, USA)
15 October 2020 – 2 May 2021
2021-05-02
2020-10-15
Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Québec, Canada)
http://www.mnba.qc.ca
2019-07-06
The Sea and the Alps: Turner's Quest for the Sublime
Tate partnerships & programmes
16 October 2021 – 14 July 2023
2023-07-14
16 October 2021 – 6 March 2022
2022-03-06
2021-10-16
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (Aarhus, Denmark)
18 May 2022 – 11 September 2022
2022-09-11
2022-05-18
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain)
http://www.mnac.es
8 October 2022 – 5 February 2023
2023-02-05
2022-10-08
National Gallery of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland)
http://www.nationalgallery.ie
3 March 2023 – 25 June 2023
2023-06-25
2023-03-03
Fondation Pierre Gianadda (Martigny, Switzerland)
2021-10-16
Turner Watercolours: Sun is God
Tate partnerships & programmes
28 October 2023 – 10 March 2024
2024-03-10
28 October 2023 – 10 March 2024
2024-03-10
2023-10-28
Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus (Munich, Germany)
2023-10-28
Turner at Lenbachhaus Munich
Loan-out
6 July 2024 – 15 January 2028
2028-01-15
6 July 2024 – 1 September 2024
2024-09-01
2024-07-06
Grimaldi Forum (Monaco, Monaco)
30 September 2024 – 7 May 2025
2025-05-07
2024-09-30
Museum of Art Pudong (Shanghai, China)
21 June 2025 – 5 October 2025
2025-10-05
2025-06-21
Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Australia)
1 June 2026 – 1 October 2026
2026-10-01
2026-06-01
External
15 November 2026 – 15 March 2027
2027-03-15
2026-11-15
External
1 May 2027 – 1 September 2027
2027-09-01
2027-05-01
External
15 October 2027 – 15 January 2028
2028-01-15
2027-10-15
External
2024-07-06
Turner's Sublime Legacy
Tate partnerships & programmes
Morning amongst the Coniston Fells, Cumberland
support: 1229 × 899 mm
frame: 1469 × 1134 × 130 mm
Accepted by the nation as part of the <a href="/search?gid=999999781" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Turner Bequest</a> 1856
<p>The mountain is Coniston Old Man, Cumbria, which Turner saw in 1797. This was the first picture that he elevated by quoting poetry in the Royal Academy catalogue. He chose lines from Milton's ‘Paradise Lost’, describing the 'mists and exhalations' of the atmosphere at sunrise. These shifting airs and lights, and flock of sheep running before them, give the landscape a natural drama and intensity. A reviewer in 1798 remarked ‘This artist's works discover a strength of mind which is not [sic] often the concomitant of much longer experience: and their effect in oil or on paper is equally sublime.’</p>

Display caption
2010-03-19T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>5.</b> [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-morning-amongst-the-coniston-fells-cumberland-n00461" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00461</span></a>]<b> Morning amongst the Coniston Fells, Cumberland</b> Exh. 1798
<br/>
<br/>THE TATE GALLERY, LONDON (461)
<br/>Canvas, 48 3/8 × 35 5/16 (123 × 89·7); about 1 (2·5) made up at top and  1/4 (0·7) at sides and along bottom.</p>
<p><b>Coll.</b> Turner Bequest 1856 (74, ‘Waterfall’ 4'0" × 3'0"); transferred to the Tate Gallery 1910.</p>
<p><b>Exh.</b> R.A. 1798 (196); Tate Gallery 1931 (5); Amsterdam, Berne, Paris, Brussels, Liege (1), Venice and Rome (2) 1947–8; <i>The Viewfinders</i>, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, May–July 1980 (58); <i>The Discovery of the Lake District, 1750–1810</i>, Grasmere and Wordsworth Museum, May–October 1982 (139, repr.); Paris 1983–4 (1, repr.); Birmingham 1984; Victoria and Albert Museum 1984–5.</p>
<p><b>Lit.</b> Farington <i>Diary</i> 5 January 1798; Cunningham 1852, p. 6; Thornbury 1862, i, pp. 258, 264; ii, 332; 1877, p. 92, 419, 530; Bell 1901, p. 27 no. 85; Armstrong 1902, p. 220; Davies 1946, p. 187; Clare 1951, p. 20, repr. p. 19; Finberg 1961, pp. 45, 48–9, 460 no. 40; Rothenstein and Butlin 1964, p. 10, pl. 10; Lindsay 1966, p. 60; Watson 1971, pp. 111–3; Wilton 1980, pp. 39–40; Ziff 1982, p. 2.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Exhibited in 1798, the first year verses were allowed in the R.A. catalogue, with the lines:
<br/></p>
<p><u>             </u> 'Ye mists and exhalations that now rise
<br/>'From hill or streaming lake, dusky or gray,
<br/>'Till the sun paints your fleecy skirts with gold,
<br/>‘In honour to the world's great Author, rise’.</p>
<p align="right">Milton Par. Lost, Book V</p>
<p>(In line two Milton's original word is ‘steaming’.)
<br/>
<br/>The picture represents Coniston Old Man in Lancashire, which Turner had visited during his tour of the north of England, including the Lake District, in the Summer of 1797; there is a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/g/graphite" title="Glossary definition for 'Graphite'"><span>pencil</span></a> <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/drawing" title="Glossary definition for 'Drawing'"><span>drawing</span></a>, inscribed ‘Old Man’, in the ‘Tweed and Lakes’ sketchbook (XXXV-57). This is close to the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> in general <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a>, though Turner has altered the trees and introduced such details as the flock of sheep in the centre of the picture; the whole feeling of atmospheric depth at the top of the picture is also new. In addition the Turner Bequest includes one or two <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/w/watercolour" title="Glossary definition for 'Watercolour'"><span>watercolour</span></a> beginnings of the Coniston Old Man in oblong format (XXXVI-L and ?U).
<br/>
<br/>A watercolour of <i>c.</i> 1797, 10 × 14 1/4 in., was sold at Christie's 15 November 1983 (170, repr. in colour). The composition, oblong in format, is much less dramatic (repr. Wilton 1979, p. 325 no. 230). Indeed, the unusual upright composition of Turner's oil leads John Gage (exh. cat., Paris 1983–4) to suggest the influence of works by Gaspard Dughet such as <i>The Falls of Tivoli</i>, <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/e/engraving" title="Glossary definition for 'Engraving'"><span>engraved</span></a> in 1744 (Wallace Collection, London); for Turner, Gaspard was the master of stormy weather.
<br/>
<br/>Thornbury, after correctly identifying this picture as the work exhibited in 1798, goes on to mention it again with the works of 1802.
<br/>
<br/>Farington, on 5 January 1798, recorded a conversation with Hoppner who, having visited Turner's studio and seen this picture and no. 7 [<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-buttermere-lake-with-part-of-cromackwater-cumberland-a-shower-n00460" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00460</span></a>], ‘mentioned 2 pictures by Turner—Rainbow and Waterfall—a timid man afraid to venture’.
<br/>
<br/>For the <i>Whitehall Evening Post</i> of 10–12 May 1798 the picture was ‘A beautiful and well-executed <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/l/landscape" title="Glossary definition for 'Landscape'"><span>landscape</span></a>. The distance is so admirably preserved, as to induce a momentary deception, and appears as if the Spectator might actually walk into the picture.’ Speaking of Turner's works at the 1798 R.A. Exhibition in general the <i>Oracle</i> wrote, 23 April 1798: ‘W. Turner has a variety of Picture worthy the attention of the <i>Cognoscenti</i>. He takes a distinguished lead in the present Exhibition, and rises far superior to our expectation on forming an opinion of his previous works.’ Similarly the <i>Monthly Magazine</i> for July 1798: ‘TURNER.— This artist's works discover a strength of mind which is not [<i>sic</i>] often the concomitant of much longer experience: and their effect in oil or on <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/paper" title="Glossary definition for 'Paper'"><span>paper</span></a> is equally <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/sublime" title="Glossary definition for 'Sublime'"><span>sublime</span></a>. He seems thoroughly to understand the mode of adjusting and applying his various materials; and, while <i>colours</i> and <i>varnish</i> are deluding one half of the profession from the path of truth and propriety, he despises these ridiculous superficial expedients, and adhers to nature and the original and unerring principles of the art.’
<br/>
<br/>There are minor losses of paint along the top and sides and also where the picture has been slightly overcleaned in the past.</p>
<p>
<br/><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, <i>The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner</i>, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-09-22T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
adults animals: mammals Coniston Old Man Cumbria England England, Northern figure gorge Lake District landscape mist morning mountain people places river sheep times of the day UK counties UK countries and regions UK natural features waterfall water: inland weather