Portsmouth, Hampshire

'Portsmouth, Hampshire' and another in the collection, 'Minehead and Dunster Castle, Somerset' (LL 3782), were two of 40 watercolours made by Turner for the publication 'Picturesque Views of the Southern Coast of England'. 'Portsmouth, Hampshire' is different from others in the series, including 'Minehead', which look out to sea from the land. Turner has set the viewpoint very low here and placed the sailors at the viewer's eye level in the foreground. This gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his technical skill and ability to recreate the motion of the sea in watercolour.