A watercolor painting submitted through Christie’s “Request an Estimate” online appraisal service has been identified as The Approach to Venice or Venice from the Lagoon (circa 1840) by J.M.W. Turner. The painting, previously misattributed to English polymath John Ruskin, will be auctioned at Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings Sale in New York on February 4 with an estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. Turner’s watercolors have historically fetched much higher prices at auction, with a comparable work selling in 2023 for over to $1 million.
The painting, which depicts the washed out horizon in the midst of an incoming storm, has been in the family of English engineer and collector Haddon C. Adams since around 1930, according to The Art Newspaper, which first reported on the discovery. While it was cataloged as a Turner during that period, its attribution shifted to Ruskin over time. Rosie Jarvie, Christie’s specialist in British drawings and watercolors, noted that the painting’s strong brushstrokes, economy of line, and color palette suggested it merited closer examination.
Follow-up analysis, including a paper analysis by historian Peter Bower, confirmed the work was made on the same type of paper used in Turner’s Venice pictures, part of the Turner Bequest. The attribution was further confirmed by Turner expert Ian Warrell, who contributed the catalog essay for the sale.
Turner’s watercolors, most of which are housed in the UK’s national collection, are rare on the open market. The painting dates to Turner’s third and final visit to Venice in 1840 and was part of a group of works retained by his dealer, Thomas Griffith. As a Turner, the watercolor is valued at approximately ten times more than if it were a Ruskin, according to Jarvie, who believes the estimate “should invite competition.”
The Turner is the one of two works submitted through Christie’s online appraisal service that will be offered at auction this season. A double-sided portrait by American folk artist Ammi Phillips, dating to around 1815, was discovered in a California storage unit and will be featured in Christie’s Important Americana auction on January 24, with an estimate of $40,000 to $80,000. Although Christie’s launched its online appraisal service in 2005, Jarvie notes that significant discoveries like these are rare through this platform.
