Artist Profile

J. M. W. Turner 1775-1851

Joseph Mallord William Turner is one of the foremost romantic painters in English history as well as the most original of English landscape artists.  He was born on April 23, 1775, the son of a London barber.  His childhood teachings included only basic education, as his mother died when he was very young.  He was raised by his father, who provided Joseph only the skill of reading, although his father did allow him to study art.  From a very early age his drawing skill was apparent, and he devoted his life to his art.  There seemed to never be a doubt that he would become the successful, recognized and honored painter that he did.

J. M. W. Turner was the original “painter of light” because of his masterful use of light in his paintings.  There was a glow and inner warmth in his scenes that was different from any other painter of the time.  Unlike many artists who were mature before fame, Turner displayed an uncanny ability from his childhood. By age 13 he displayed his paintings, first in the window of his father’s barber shop and then in gallery settings.  At age 15 he achieved what was, at that time, an unheard-of accomplishment:  Two of his watercolor paintings were displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts.  At age 18 Turner set up his own studio and was creating topographical drawings for magazines.  By age 27 he was a full member of the Royal Academy.

Over the ten years from 1800 to 1810, Turner displayed works frequently at the Royal Academy and was made a professor, teaching perspective in 1807.  From this time on he devoted himself to his visionary interpretations of the English landscape for which he became so well known.

Travel and the images it presented to Turner refueled his visions and filled his sketchbook.  Although actual paintings were later completed in his studio environment, these original sketches were masterfully transformed into oil and watercolor works.  Turner’s ability to capture and illuminate landscape and seascape settings was instrumental in bringing both to wide acclaim.  His work made landscape an important and revered subject matter. 

From 1807 to 1819 Turner worked on a series of 70 drawings that were later reproduced as engravings and published as Liber Studiorum.  This practice was made popular by the French classical artist Claude Lorraine, who himself had made many such publications.

Even though his work was popular and his fame increased, Turner lived his life as a recluse and had few friends.  He always worked and traveled alone.  While he did exhibit his paintings, he seldom agreed to sell them.  His attachment to the paintings was proven by the fact that when he did agree to sell a work, he became depressed and morose. 

J.M.W. Turner died on December 19, 1851 at the age of 76.  The full collection of his works at the time of his death was bequeathed to the nation.  This extraordinary gift included over 300 oil paintings, 20,000 watercolors and 19,000 drawings (including 300 sketchbooks). As dictated by his will, the Clore Gallery at the Tate Gallery in London was created and opened in 1987 to display this collection.  Most of the works in his studio at the time of his death did go to The Tate. 

J.M.W. Turner’s work is occasionally the target of controversy, mainly for his choice of colors and their application.  One explanation comes from an unusual source – an eye surgeon, James McGill, who believes Turner to have been color blind.  He bases this observation on the reactions to color by a number of his patients.  Turner’s use of color has stirred many to speculate reasons, but this explanation seems plausible and interesting.

Regardless of whether his vision played a part in his interpretations, J.M.W. Turner is considered the premier English landscape painter.  Indeed, he was called “the Shakespeare of landscape” by poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

The exhibition J. M. W. Turner is on view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., through January 6.  The most comprehensive survey of Turner’s work ever presented in the U.S., this exhibition features more than 145 paintings and watercolors that reveal the astonishing talent and imagination of the artist—with an extensive range of subjects from mythology and historical events to seascapes and modern life and more. The exhibition travels to the Dallas Museum of Art (Feb.) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY (June).

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 18 No. 1 — November 2007