Walton Bridges

'Walton Bridges' is the first in a series he painted during a series of boat trips along the Thames in 1805-6. Turner was fascinated by the challenge of capturing the effects of both sky and water. 'Walton Bridges' is believed to be the first oil by Turner to be painted in the open air, a practice which was to become an important element of his artistic approach.

The painting depicts the new bridge that ran across the Thames between the locks at Sunbury and Shepperton in Surrey. By including the bridge in his painting, Turner combined a traditional subject of cattle and barges with an example of the latest engineering, an approach that would have been considered radically modern in his time.