Turner - Watercolours from the West

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery are hosting works from one of the foremost landscape painters in British art

 

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery

Wednesday 15 October 2014 - Saturday 13 December 2014

 

The works on display until mid-December will allow us a glimpse of JMW Turner's early ability to turn the topographical ‘data’ he gathered on sketching trips into carefully conceived and highly atmospheric images. By contrast, two images from the 1830s show the artist’s mature handling of watercolour – both in sketches and finished works.

 

Alongside the Turners, Swindon Museum & Art Gallery will be displaying art from its own collection including works by John Piper and Graham Sutherland. These artists could be regarded as the modern ‘heirs’ to Turner, as their art celebrates the beauty and diversity of the British landscape, including the rocky hillsides and waterfalls found in some of Turner’s pictures.

 

A Talk with Professor Sam Smiles - Saturday 18 October, 7.30pm

 

Sam Smiles is Professor of Art History & Visual Culture, at the University of Exeter and Emeritus Professor for Art History, University of Plymouth has curated exhibitions and published widely on British art c. 1750-1930 and has a particular interest in the work of J.M.W. Turner, on whose art he is an authority. He is co-curator of Late Turner - Painting Set Free at Tate Britain, opening this October and will be hosting and talking about the Turner collection on display.

 

This talk will focus on Turners explorations and images of the region, including Bath, Malmesbury, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Stourhead and Fonthill.

 

Tickets are free but it is advisable to book to avoid disappointment. Please phone 01793 466556 to reserve your place.