About the Artist

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 London-1851 London) was briefly apprenticied to the architect Thomas Malton. But in 1789, at the age of only 14, he entered the Royal Academy as a student. During his early creative period he painted mainly watercolors, but after 1795 he turned to oils. In 1802 he was made full member of the Royal Academy; in 1809, he was named a professor of the science of perspective. Turner did topographic sketches of nature on numerous journeys throughout England, Scotland and Wales. In 1802 he traveled to France and Switzerland for the first time. His paintings from the years following this trip reflect Turner's efforts to come to terms with the art of Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Turner embarked on journeys to Italy in 1819 and in 1828; the result was a transformation in style from landscape impressions suffused with light to more visionary creations. Important works by the artist include The Death of Nelson, 1808, the Tate Gallery, London; Odysseus Ridiculing Polyphemus, 1828, The Tate Gallery, London; and Rain Steam and Speed, 1844, The Tate Gallery, London.