Turner - works on paper
Joseph Mallord William Turner, known as J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) had a career that spanned over fifty years. Our collection of drawings, watercolours and prints from both the Walker Art Gallery and Lady Lever Art Gallery gives a unique insight into the artists' mind and creative process.
About the collection
Turner created over 30,000 works on paper in his lifetime. Our collection includes work that traces the development of his career from early preparatory and experimental sketches to highly finished, expressive late works. Many of these works represent the diversity and emotive power of nature.
Turner's exploration of the potential of watercolour is well-represented in the collection. As a portable and quick-drying medium, it proved indispensable as a means of recording scenery and the fleeting effects of light and shade, which he observed during his extensive travels around the UK and Europe. It was in watercolour that he achieved some of his most creative and innovative results.
Topographical studies remained a constant throughout Turner’s career in the form of drawings, print series and illustrations. Notable in the collection is his Liber Studiorum (Latin for ‘Book of Studies), published between 1807-1819. The Walker holds a complete set of the Liber Studiorum as well as posthumous prints made from Turner’s designs by Sir Frank Short. It covered what he felt were the major genres of landscape painting, architectural, historical, marine, mountainous and pastoral, using examples from his own paintings and new designs produced specifically for the book. The Liber was produced in fourteen parts over twelve years and included 71 prints. They were intended to be used as a collection for study and learnings for other artists as well as becoming a record of his own artistic progress.