Joseph Mallord William Turner
(23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851) was an English Romantic landscape
painter, watercolourist and printmaker, whose style can be said to have
laid the foundation for Impressionism. Although Turner was considered a
controversial figure in his day, he is now regarded as the artist who
elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting.
His work was exhibited when he was still a teenager. His entire life was
devoted to his art. Unlike many artists of his era, he was successful
throughout his career.
Turner's will, which was under litigation for many years, left more than
19,000 watercolors, drawings, and oils to the British nation. Most of
these works are in the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery, London.
Many of Turner's oils have deteriorated badly.
