Stangate Creek, on the River Medway
Thomas Goff Lupton (1791–1873), after Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
Stangate Creek, on the River Medway, 1827
For The Rivers of England
Mezzotint (first published state)
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 14 in. (25.1 x 35.6 cm)
Plate: 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 in. (21 x 27.3 cm)
Image: 6 3/8 x 9 1/2 in. (16.2 x 24.1 cm)
Yale Center for British Art; Paul Mellon Collection
In the watercolor of Stangate Creek, within the Medway estuary, Turner balances the open area on the left with a cluster of boats in the foreground on the right. The dark silhouettes of floating hulks or decommissioned men-of-war converted into inspection stations for cargo on incoming trade ships add a note of mystery. According to an inscription on an engraver’s proof, Turner instructed the engraver Thomas Lupton to replace the logs in the foreground with a buoy.