Fun Facts: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1853
Joseph Mallord William Turner
In honor of the anniversary of Turner’s birthday in the month of April, let’s get into our fun facts.
Turner was born in London in 1775.
He was the only son of William and Mary.
His mother became mentally unstable and was committed to the Bethlem asylum in 1800 and later died in 1804.
Turner was then sent to live with his mother’s brother.
Turner’s father remained a devoted supporter of his son’s talent and he also became his studio assistant.
In 1789, Turner attended the Royal Academy of Arts and worked for Thomas Malton, an architectural draftsman and topographer.
He exhibited his first watercolor painting in 1790 and first oil in 1796 at the Royal Academy of Art.
He continued to exhibit his work every year until his death.
Turner became more involved with the Royal Academy and was appointed as a professor of perspective in 1807.
He opened his own art gallery on Queen Anne Street in 1804.
From 1802 to Turner took his first trip abroad and travelled through France and Switzerland, where he also studied at the Louvre.
In 1817 he travelled through the low countries and also began to travel more frequently on the continent until 1845.
Between 1819 to 1820, he made his first trip to Italy, where he mostly stayed in Venice and Rome. He later revisited Venice around 1833-1835 and later in 1840.
He worked for publishers of illustrated books and his illustrations appeared intermittently between 1827-1835.
Turner became known as a topographical watercolorist, where he sketched from nature.
He was determined to elevate the genre of landscape painting to a higher level to that of ideal art, closer to historical painting. He experimented with new techniques in watercolor and oils to achieve this goal.
From about 1798, he maintained a relationship with Sarah Danby and they had 2 children. They never married.
Following the deaths of many of his friends, he became increasingly pessimistic and sullen.
His gallery also became dilapidated and fell into disrepair.
Turner began to live in his cottage and was taken care of by his caretaker Mrs. Booth.
He passed away in 1853 and was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
Source: National Gallery of Art
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Copyright 2024 Tim Bovey.
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner