Full Description
Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) is without contest England's greatest painter - as his contemporaries were quick to admit, even when they could not understand his increasingly abstract art. Yet, despite achieving fame young, the man himself was so intensely private as to be almost unknown. Both brusque and kindly, tight-fisted and generous, taciturn and witty company, he remained a fascinating enigma and source of many legends.
Soon after Turner's death the journalist, critic and novelist Walter Thornbury began collecting anecdotes from friends and colleagues. The resulting biography provides most of what we know about Turner. It is unfailingly energetic and entertaining - but also ill-organised and prolix. In this edition, the scholar Ian Warrell has arranged Thornbury's most illuminating passages into a compact, coherent narrative of the painter's life.
Unfailingly vivid and thought-provoking, and with nearly 100 pages of colour illustrations, this is the first stop on any exploration of Turner's life and career.
Contents
Introduction by IAN WARRELL
Some further reading, p. 38
Selections from The Life and Correspondence of J. M. W. Turner, WALTER THORNBURY
The Curtain Rises, p. 41
Maiden Lane, Covent Garden
(London vs Venice), p. 45
Early Ambitions, p. 47
Brentford: The Country Eden, p. 48
Margate, p. 49
Architects and Blue Skies, p. 49
The Royal Academy, p. 51
First Tour to Bristol, 1791, p. 52
First Painting in Oils, p. 53
Turner and Girtin at Dr Thomas
Monro's 'academy', p. 55
Thomas Girtin (1775-1802), p. 56
Embarking on Travels in England, p. 59
Turner Portraits, 1800, p. 62
Summary of Turner's Art Life, p. 64
Vandervelde's Rival, 1801, p. 65
The First Foreign Tour, p. 69
The Shipwreck, p. 72
Turner's Liber Studiorum, p. 73
Claude and the Liber, p. 77
John Dillon on the Liber, p. 82
Appreciations of Turner's Early Paintings, p. 83
Teaching Perspective, p. 88
Turner and Poetry, p. 90
Walter Fawkes (1769-1825), p. 91
Devon and Plein Air Painting (1811-14), p. 100
Pictures of Nothing: Turner and the Critics, p. 105
Sandycombe Lodge, p. 108
The Yorkshire Frost, p. 112
Carthage and Claude, p. 114
The Old Masters, p. 120
Cuyp and Turner, p. 121
Work for the Engravers, p. 125
Italy 1819, p. 129
Plagiarism, p. 132
Bay of Baiæ, p. 133
Working to Order—Sights Unseen, p. 136
Varnishing Days (1): The Black Cloud, p. 137
Fishing, p. 141
Petworth, Sussex, p. 144
Floating Carrots, p. 146
Chantrey's Trick, p. 146
Francis Chantrey, p. 148
Rome 1828, p. 149
The Polyphemus, p. 153
Death of William Turner Senior, p. 159
The Benevolent Hoarder [row of 1829], p. 160
Engraving on Steel, p. 162
Turner in Scott-land, p. 168
Varnishing Days (2): Constable vs Turner, p. 173
Constable, p. 179
Varnishing Days (3): George Jones, p. 180
Chantrey and the Fire Office, p. 186
New Patrons, p. 186
The Money Spider, p. 187
Varnishing Days (4): A Venetian Painting, p. 189
Varnishing Days (5): The Burning of the
Houses of Parliament, p. 192
Indifferent, p. 197
Travelling with H. A. J. Munro, 1836, p. 199
The Old Temeraire, p. 204
Later Travels, p. 210
The Slave Ship, p. 213
Mr Ruskin and Modern Painters, p. 214
Soapsuds and White-wash, p. 215
A Critic Chastened, p. 219
Wider Criticisms, p. 220
The Gallery on Queen Anne Street
in the 1840s, p. 223
James Astbury Hammersley's Visit to the
Gallery in 1844, p. 224
Frustrated Hopes, p. 227
Turner's Prices, p. 228
Last Works, p. 233
Drawn into Society, p. 235
John Jabez Edwin Mayall and Photography, p. 237
Twilight at Chelsea, p. 241
The Last Sunshine, p. 248
The Empty Gallery, p. 249
Turner's Painting Room, p. 251
The Grand Funeral, p. 255
Old Mortality: An Assessment, p. 259
List of illustrations, p. 268
Note on the text, p. 272
