J. M. W. Turner

Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851), known as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter regarded as one of the greatest British painters of the 19th century. His expressive renditions of light and atmosphere and bold use of colour in landscape painting inspired the early impressionists Monet and Pissarro.

Turner started his career as an architectural draughtsman and watercolourist and gained academic recognition as an oil painter. A child prodigy, Turner was accepted as a student at the Royal Academy of Arts at age 14 and quickly rose to fame, and financial success. By his early twenties, he was selling oil paintings at top market prices and gaining high praise from the academic establishment. By 27 he was a Royal Academician, the highest artistic honour at the time, and become one of the youngest painters to achieve this distinction in the Academy's history. Despite these accomplishments, a few influential critics in aristocratic circles constantly criticised him for his working-class origins.

Turner's artistic style evolved during his lifetime as he never stopped experimenting with new painting techniques. He was a versatile artist who could emulate the styles of Old Masters, producing works that earned admiration from Academicians and art critics. Early on, he started painting in an increasingly expressionistic style, using sketches from his extensive travels throughout England and Europe as inspiration. To complement his depictions of the ocean, rivers, and mountains, he experimented with representing natural phenomena like sunlight, storms, clouds, and fog. Turner's later landscapes became more abstract and were not well received at the time, but are considered today masterpieces. He was a prolific artist, producing about 550 oil paintings and over 2,000 watercolours during his lifetime.

Turner died a rich man in 1851, aged 76. Upon his death, his investments and properties were valued at £140,000 (equivalent to £17 million in 2025). He bequeathed to the nation around 100 finished and 200 unfinished oil paintings. His most important works are displayed at the National Gallery and the Tate Britain museums in London.