Joseph Mallord William Turner
John Thomas Smith (1766-1833), J.M.W. Turner in Print Room of British Museum, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon CollectionJohn Thomas Smith (1766-1833), J.M.W. Turner in Print Room of British Museum, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1775–1851
The son of a barber and wig-maker, Turner was engaged in art from a young age: he is said to have colored engravings at the age of ten and sold engravings by age twelve. His father encouraged his artistic talents by displaying Turner’s works in the family shop window. At the age of fourteen he was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited his first work, a watercolor, at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1790. He made his first trip to Wales in the summer of 1792, and four subsequent tours before 1800. His final journey to Wales, in 1799, was to Snowdonia, and resulted in Dolbadern Castle, North Wales (Royal Academy of Arts, London), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1800.
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