Little-known Turner emerges from the shadows for auction

A LITTLE-known painting of a ruined Scots castle by the artist Joseph Turner - aged only 17 - is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction next month.

Turner, the landscape painter famed for his impressionistic views of England and Europe, painted Dunnottar Castle in Kincardineshire in 1792.

The watercolour, unseen since 1964, sheds light on the artist's travels in Scotland as he developed his distinctive painting style.

The impressive watercolour, with pen, ink and traces of pencil, shows the spectacular castle ruin high on its cliff-top setting in the background, with horses and men on the shore in front.

It will be sold at Bonhams' Sale of 19th century pictures on 13 July, when experts expect it to exceed its 8,000 estimate.

Sam Travers, of Bonhams' 19th century pictures department, said: "This is a very early painting by Turner, and shows him developing his style, choosing interesting subject matter and using various watercolour techniques.

"The young Turner would have completed this work on one of his first tours.

"It's not widely known that he travelled to Scotland and at such a young age - he is best known for his later paintings of England and the continent - but he would have stood on that very spot and done the painting from life.

"It is a spectacular spot, with the castle on the cliff and figures in the foreground.

"It sheds light on his work north of the Border."

The painting was last seen in public at an exhibition of the Fine Art Society in London in 1964, and has since been kept in a private collection south of the Border.