Very much so in 2017. Scotland’s National Gallery is kicking off its 2017 exhibition schedule with a bang, highlighting watercolors by one of the most famous Romantics of all time. We bet you know his name!

A number of pristine watercolors by British Romantic J.M.A. Turner (1775-1851) are currently decorating the walls of Scotland’s National Gallery through January 31. The watercolors — bequeathed to the gallery by the distinguished collector Henry Vaughan — represent the whole of Turner’s career.

J.M.W. Turner, “The St Gothard Pass at the Devil’s Bridge,” 1830, watercolor, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017
J.M.W. Turner, “The St Gothard Pass at the Devil’s Bridge,” 1830, watercolor, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017
J.M.W. Turner, “Monte Rosa,” 1836, watercolor, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017
J.M.W. Turner, “Monte Rosa,” 1836, watercolor, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017
J.M.W. Turner, “Sea View,” mid-1820s, watercolor on blue paper, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017
J.M.W. Turner, “Sea View,” mid-1820s, watercolor on blue paper, (c) National Galleries of Scotland 2017

Among Turner’s early topographical wash drawings are also his atmospheric sketches of continental Europe from the 1830s and 1840s. The museum notes, “Vaughan stipulated in his bequest that these delicate watercolors should be exhibited to the public all at one time, free of charge, during the month of January.” For over 100 years, the museum has obliged, and 2017 is no different. Further, the museum concludes, “This limited exposure has resulted in the works retaining their luminous colors and pristine condition.”

To learn more, visit the National Galleries of Scotland.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.


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Andrew Webster is the former Editor of Fine Art Today and worked as an editorial and creative marketing assistant for Streamline Publishing. Andrew graduated from The University of North Carolina at Asheville with a B.A. in Art History and Ceramics. He then moved on to the University of Oregon, where he completed an M.A. in Art History. Studying under scholar Kathleen Nicholson, he completed a thesis project that investigated the peculiar practice of embedded self-portraiture within Christian imagery during the 15th and early 16th centuries in Italy.

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