J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from the Tate

J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) was a prolific British painter with an international reputation. Known as William Turner, his work was characterized with a strong use of color, imaginary landscapes and turbulent marine scenes.

Last week I was fortunate to view J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from the Tate at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Primarily, watercolors, this exhibit is drawn from the Tate's collection of over 30,000 works on paper, 300 oil paintings and 280 sketchbooks known as the "Turner Bequest". As the exhibition literature states, this collection was donated to Great Britain after the artist died in 1851 and primarily conserved at Tate Britain.

These days it is rare to see a large quantity of watercolors in the same location for public viewing. It is just as impressive that these watercolors were painted over two hundred years ago, before the age of running water and electricity and some during the founding of our country.

The above painting, Venice: San Giorgio - Maggiore: Early Morning, was painted in 1819. While viewing this exhibit, I read of references to over nineteen thousand watercolors to Turner's credit.

The exhibition continues until February 23, 2020.