Art Guide · Painters
J. M. W. Turner
1775–1851
J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) was the English Romantic landscape painter who rendered light, mist and storm in an almost abstract language. Known as “the painter of light”, his best-loved work is The Fighting Temeraire.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
The son of a London barber, he entered the Royal Academy schools at 14 and became a full Academician at 26. He travelled widely in Britain and Europe, especially Venice and the Alps, filling thousands of sketches.
On his death he left most of his work to the British nation. His name lives on in the Turner Prize, one of contemporary art’s most prestigious awards, and since 2020 he has appeared on the £20 note.
Style and key works
Turner cared less about objects than atmosphere: light dissolving into mist, sea and smoke. The Fighting Temeraire (1839) shows an old warship towed to be broken up at sunset, and was voted Britain’s favourite painting in a 2005 BBC poll. Rain, Steam and Speed (1844) paints the industrial age in the same hazy light and is seen as a forerunner of Impressionism.
Key works
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Frequently asked questions
Where is The Fighting Temeraire?
In the National Gallery in London.
Who is the Turner Prize named after?
J. M. W. Turner; the prize has been awarded to British contemporary artists since 1984.