IS IT A TURNER?

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 899, 19 August 1910, Page 4

IS IT A TURNER?

PICTURE GOT IN A RAFFLE.

ißy Telcgraph.-Speclal Correspondent.) Auckland; August 18.' Is it a Turner? This.; question, is at present agitating the mind of Mr. Edward , Vi'ignall,- a. retired stevedore residing at Walters Road, Mount ' Roskill, regarding a seascape oil painting which; he has in. his possession. If it cau be proved' that the picture is .the- work of that famous painter, it may possibly be worth several.thousands of pounds., It.is certainly a good picture, and there are many points'about it which.suggest that there may. be something in the claim that it is a Turner. ■. ... ' The-picture, which measures 24in. by ISin., is a seascape with the Rock of Gibraltar showing in the background. As in the case of many of Turner's works, it depicts the bursting of-a storm. Away to the right there are black, lowering clouds; in the foreground a three-masted frigate is flying before the gale; to the left is a Spanish felucca caught unawares returning home, and, away in the hazy distance, the shipping can be distinguished riding safely at anchor in the harbour, with the town and fortifications but faintly visible,' while the sky to ..the right is darkness itself. The remainder of the picture is filled with clouds, and a peep of blue here and there lets in the -light',with striking effect upon the angry waters, and picks out the sails of the frigate. The play of light, and'the great regard for truth both in foreground and chiaroscuro, is certainly suggcsti\<e of Turner. The picture has the appearance of age, and the full effect cannot be fully appreciated uutil it is cleaned. In the lower right-hand corner; the word "Turner" appears faintly, "with an initial which might bo "J." 0r."5.," while below (also very faintly! appear the figures 335 G. On the back there is stahip'ed the following:—"R. and M. 720.. Prepared by Robertson and Miller, 51 Long Acre, London." As guessed, the picture has' a story. The owner, in narrating its history to a "Herald" representative yesterday, stated that' it .was brought out from England to New Zealand by Captain Mordeau in the barque Elizabeth Graham, some forty years ago, and, together with several other pictures and ship's instruments, was raffled at Port Chalmers. •<• Mr. Wignail, who was then a stevedore at that port, admired the picture, bought a ticket at XI, and was successful in getting ■ the picture. It hung in Mr. W'ignall's house until some eighteen months ago, when he was moving to Auckland, and, at that time a friend, fascinated by the picture, advised him to make inquiries ns to its value. On coming to Auckland Mr. Wignail obtained the opinion. of Mr. L. J. Steele, the well-known Auckland artist, who examined the picture with a magnifying glass, and emphatically declared that it was a "Turner" in his best style. "I have," said Mr. Steele again yesterday, "thoucht over . it and examined' it carefully, and T say positively that it is a 'Turner.' I- have advised Mr. IVignall to send it to Christie's. London, and. if this is done, and it" wives to be a.'Turner.' there will be exppr.rs from all parts of London to see it." Mr.'-Wigiiall,;who is 80 years nf age, now intends to. carry nut' Mr. Steele's recommendation 'by send--inn the picture Homo, and he will, if possible, realise nil ; t for, the. benefit of his daughter. In Tip meantime the jv'cture has been lodged in, a bank for safe keeping. ■ '