Where can you see J. M. W. Turner in London?

At the National Gallery: The Fighting Temeraire and Rain, Steam and Speed. At the Tate Britain: Norham Castle, Sunrise. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is J. M. W. Turner's most famous work in London?

The Fighting Temeraire, of 1839, at the National Gallery. A warship that had fought at Trafalgar is towed up the Thames by a black steam tug to be broken up, pale as a ghost, under a red sunset. He never sold it and called it his darling.

When and where was J. M. W. Turner born?

On 23 April 1775, at Covent Garden, London. J. M. W. Turner died on 19 December 1851, at Chelsea, London, aged about 76.

What is J. M. W. Turner known for?

Born in Covent Garden, the son of a barber. The Fighting Temeraire has been voted the nation's favourite painting. The Turner Prize is named after him. J. M. W. Turner was an English painter, of Romanticism.

Painter, 1775 to 1851

J. M. W. Turner

Turner was born over a barber's shop in Covent Garden and died in a cottage in Chelsea under a false name. In between he changed what paint could be made to do with light, weather and speed.

Born: 1775, Covent Garden, London
Died: 1851, Chelsea, London
Movement: Romanticism
In London: 3 works in 2 museums

Where to see J. M. W. Turner in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The National Gallery2 works

The Fighting Temeraire
1839
A warship that had fought at Trafalgar is towed up the Thames by a black steam tug to be broken up, pale as a ghost, under a red sunset. He never sold it and called it his darling.
Rain, Steam and Speed
1844
A train comes at you across a bridge over the Thames through a squall of rain. Look at the track just ahead of the engine: a hare is running for its life.

Tate Britain1 work

Norham Castle, Sunrise
about 1845
A ruined castle on the River Tweed, which he had drawn as a young man, reduced to a blue shadow in yellow light, with a cow drinking. It was never shown in his lifetime.

The life of J. M. W. Turner

He entered the Royal Academy schools at fourteen and was a full member at twenty-six. He travelled every summer with a sketchbook, to Wales, the Alps, Venice, and painted through the winter. As he grew older his pictures dissolved into light, and the critics said he had gone mad.

His will asked that two of his paintings hang beside two by Claude, the painter he most wanted to equal. They still do, in the National Gallery. The rest of his bequest is at Tate Britain, in a wing built for it.

What to know

Born in Covent Garden, the son of a barber
The Fighting Temeraire has been voted the nation's favourite painting
The Turner Prize is named after him

Born: 23 April 1775, Covent Garden, London
Died: 19 December 1851, Chelsea, London

J. M. W. Turner: common questions

Where can you see J. M. W. Turner in London?: At the National Gallery: The Fighting Temeraire and Rain, Steam and Speed. At the Tate Britain: Norham Castle, Sunrise. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is J. M. W. Turner's most famous work in London?: The Fighting Temeraire, of 1839, at the National Gallery. A warship that had fought at Trafalgar is towed up the Thames by a black steam tug to be broken up, pale as a ghost, under a red sunset. He never sold it and called it his darling.
When and where was J. M. W. Turner born?: On 23 April 1775, at Covent Garden, London. J. M. W. Turner died on 19 December 1851, at Chelsea, London, aged about 76.
What is J. M. W. Turner known for?: Born in Covent Garden, the son of a barber. The Fighting Temeraire has been voted the nation's favourite painting. The Turner Prize is named after him. J. M. W. Turner was an English painter, of Romanticism.