a fine example of Turner’s fascination with the intermediacy of land and sea around the British coastline, and the interaction between man and nature, as he looks landward from amidst a small fleet of various fishing vessels riding a boiling sea, yet within touching distance of beautiful old town of Hastings, nestling between the dramatic cliffs of the East and West Hills, the latter crowned by the extensive remains of the Norman castle. The plate is dedicated to the famous 19th century art collector, Charles Sackville Bale, who owned the original drawing,
hand-coloured steel-engraving by Robert Wallis, 520 x 665 mm. (20 1/2 x 26 1/4 in), laid on a thin board support with two vertical lines of browning in the upper margin, just extending into the image, the upper margin also slightly damp-stained, but this and the lines largely obscured by a decorative mount,