Study of Fish: Two Tench, a Trout and a Perch
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: c.1822–4
- Medium: Graphite, watercolour and bodycolour on paper
- Dimensions: support: 275 x 470 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Study of Fish: Two Tench, a Trout and a Perch” by Joseph Mallord William Turner, created around 1822–24. Turner was a self‑taught naturalist as much as a painter, and fishing was a pastime that could rival his brushwork. In fact, a portrait of his fishing rod hangs in Gallery 103, a reminder that he spent far too much time on the water for some early critics. Sir John Leicester even complained that Turner spent more time fishing than painting.
In this sketch, Turner uses graphite, watercolour and bodycolour on a modest 275 × 470 mm sheet of paper, capturing three fish with remarkable detail and a fleeting sense of movement. He likely drew them from memory or from fish he caught himself—near his Thames‑side home at Twickenham, at Farnley Hall in Yorkshire, the lake at Petworth, and the Derbyshire estate of his friend James Holworthy.
Acquired as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856, this work sits in Tate Britain’s cataloguing of Turner’s bequest, a testament to his lifelong fascination with the natural world.
See it in person
Study of Fish: Two Tench, a Trout and a Perch is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
