Oil Painting, 'Richmond Bridge', Daniel Turner, late 18th century

A view of Richmond Bridge, upstream towards Richmond Hill on the left, with three boats on the water in the foreground.

Purchased, 1888

This is a view of new Richmond Bridge from the Surrey bank, upstream towards Richmond Hill on the left. The bridge was designed and built between 1774-77 by James Paine (about 1716-89), a distinguished architect in the Palladian style, and Kenton Couse (1721–1790), an architect and Secretary to the Board of Works. It replaced the ferry crossing which had become inadequate for serving the volume of people and goods between Richmond and neighbouring Twickenham.

The bridge was the first of four celebrated, stone-arch bridges across the Thames built by Paine and the painting shows its five elliptical arches of Portland stone. It also shows the additional arches of red stone on the right, which may have been built to accommodate the unequal level of the opposite shore. Daniel Turner was one of several artists who painted Richmond Bridge including J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), whose View of Richmond Hill and Bridge (Tate N00557) was shown at the artist’s own gallery in 1808. A curious view painted earlier in 1778 by a ‘J.W.’ belongs to Killerton House in Devon (National Trust Inventory Number 1358545).
The unusual oval format of the V&A painting corresponds to The Thames at London Bridge, by Daniel Turner in The Bank of England collection (Accession number 1346) which is, however, of larger dimensions.

Daniel Turner was a topographical landscape painter and etcher and probably also a miniature painter. He specialised in London views, particularly bridges across the Thames, and exhibited at the Free Society of Artists between 1782-83 and the Royal Academy of Art between 1796-1801.

This is a view of new Richmond Bridge designed and built by James Paine and Kenton Couse between 1774-77. It was the first of four stone-arch bridges built by Paine and was also painted by notable artists including J.M.W. Turner, whose celebrated views of Richmond Bridge are in the Tate Gallery. Daniel Turner painted mainly London views, specialising in bridges across the Thames.

378-1888