Turner and Coastal Scenes

J. M. W. Turner spent his entire life capturing the character of the sea and life on the British coast. His paintings and watercolours reveal not only his passion for the sea and shipping, but his extraordinary understanding of the sea’s ever-changing patterns, including its violence and serenity.

January 2024 will see a representative collection of Turner’s work on paper known as the Vaughan Bequest presented alongside a range of coastal views by eighteenth and nineteenth-century British and Irish artists, who, like Turner, drew inspiration from sea and shore. Some fifteen watercolours from the Gallery’s collection, many of which have not been seen in many years, will complement the Vaughan Bequest in this first exhibition of 2024.