Joseph Mallord William Turner
Title: The Fifth Plague of Egypt, 1800
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: Indianapolis Museum of Art, Gift in memory of Evan F. Lilly
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
National Gallery of Art, Washington
through January 6, 2008
Title: The Shipwreck, 1805
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: Tate, London, Bequeathed by the Artist, 1856
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
Brilliant. Precocious. British. Artist. All contribute to understanding but don't quite define J.M.W. Turner.
Title: Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, 1835
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
Biography
Turner was born in Covent Garden in London's West end the son of a barber, who throughout his life supported his son's artistic endeavors. Turner was raised mainly by his uncle after losing both his mother and sister when he was a young boy. While these events must have had a devastating effect on him, his artistry didn't suffer in kind. The famed Royal Academy exhibited his first watercolor when he was a teenager. He had a lifelong association with the Academy.
Title: Warkworth Castle, Northumberland - Thunder Storm Approaching at Sunset, 1799
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Permanent Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Ellison gift
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
The largest and most comprehensive Turner retrospective in the USA has premiered at
the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Nearly 140 works, both oils and works on paper, are on
display including some making their American debut.
Highlights
Title: Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps, 1812
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: Tate, London, Bequeathed by the Artist, 1856
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
It seems trite to label just a few of the great artist's works as 'highlights' in an exhibition of celebration. London's Tate Gallery
has loaned Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps to the retrospective. Hannibal is barely visible in the work that
focuses on the forces of nature conspiring against a nearly impossible task: moving troops and supplies along the steep passages of the Alps.
The turbulent weather is foreboding in the painting that illustrates the Carthaginian General's exhaustive journey prior to his battle
against the Romans of 3 B.C. Though depicting one of the most famous military campaigns in history Turner didn't focus primarily on the people
but on the difficulty of the task illustrating the campaign's true success.
The Royal Commission
Title: The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, 1823-1824
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: National Maritime Museum, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
Do not overlook Turner's largest work The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, which King George IV commissioned. Turner researched
the piece and opted to create a historical record of several incidents that occurred albeit at separate times it the battle. The work was not well-
received. It at first was put on display at St. James Palace. Answering his critics Turner spent 11-days altering the canvas but it was
without avail.
Displeased with the result and embarrassed at the controversy the King donated the work to the Greenwich Hospital.
Title: Caernarvon Castle, 1799
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Pencil and Watercolor on Paper
Private Collection
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
J. M. W. Turner was one of England's greatest artists. To British poet Alfred Tennyson, Turner was the "Shakespeare of landscape."
Title: Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus - Homer's Odyssey, 1829
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (English 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Permanent Collection: The National Gallery, London, Turner Bequest, 1856
Image Courtesy: National Gallery of Art, Washington
"Turner, who is celebrated widely for his talent and technical innovations,
had a profound influence on the romantic movement and impressionism," said
Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "We are indebted to
Tate Britain for making this exhibition possible and thank lenders throughout
Europe and the United States for their generous loans."
The exhibit will travel to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art after it's run at the NGA ends early in 2008.
Joseph Mallord William Turner:
National Gallery of Art, DC:
October 1 2007 - January 6, 2008
Dallas Museum of Art:
February 10 – May 18, 2008
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:
June 24 – September 21, 2008
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