Explore the Background of this artwork, Norham Castle, Sunrise.
Norham is a village in Northumberland, England in the border country between England and Scotland. The castle was a key stronghold overlooking the River Tweed and was frequently attacked by the Scots. Turner visited the castle and the surrounding country in 1797. Following his journey, Turner created the watercolor Norham Castle: Sunrise, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1798 to critical acclaim. Turner revisted the ruins in 1801. In 1806, Turner began work on his Liber Studiorum, a collection of monochrome landscape prints. Norham Castle, Sunrise was among a series of unfinished colored reworkings of these prints. The source for this painting in particular was the Tate Collection's Liber catalogue's plate no. 57, Norham Castle on the Tweed, published in 1816.By the end of his career, Turner had created six different versions of this painting and returned to Norham Castle multiple times to reflect on his work and life.
Royal Academy of Arts Norham Northumberland Norham Castle Liber Studiorum River Tweed England castle