Joseph Mallord William Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), was one of the foremost English landscape painters of his time. He received almost no general education, but his unique skills gained him a place at the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts at the age of 14. In the following ten years he exhibited regularly at the Academy and was elected a member in 1802. With such recognition, he was able to devote himself to the visionary interpretations of landscape for which he became famous. 

He sought inspiration for landscape painting by taking many trips around Britain and Europe. His walks along the river Thames, and trips to the Thames estuary provided him with the inspiration for several of his paintings. His friendship with the Earl of Egremont, who resided at Petworth House, and his many visits there, produced some of Turner's most idyllic landscapes. Almost unchanged to this day are the vistas from Petworth House which Turner captured so beautifully. The nearby towns of Brighton and Chichester proved to be fertile sources of inspiration, as can be seen in his paintings Brighton from the Sea and Chichester Canal, which hang in Petworth house, which is open to the public.

His love of landscape drew him to paint many of Britain's great castles, including Kenilworth, Barnard, Pevensey, Dartmouth and Battle Abbey. His Sunrise over Norham Castle is of particular note. As is his atmospheric Rain, Steam and Speed, a wonderful depiction of a steam train as it crosses Maidenhead railway bridge, which spans the Thames between Taplow and Maidenhead.