(1775 - 1851)
J. M. W. Turner was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy Schools from the age of 14. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1802 and opened a public gallery, an extension to his home in Harley Street, two years later. Turner also began to build Sandycombe Lodge, Twickenham, from 1812. After the hostilities with France, he travelled in Europe, including a visit to Italy in 1819. Throughout the 1820s he drew topographical subjects, notably for C. Heath’s ‘Picturesque Views in England and Wales’ (1827-38). Some 370 engravings after his works of the 1830s helped spread his fame through Europe and America. In 1845 he served as Acting President of the Academy. He bought 6 Davis Place, Chelsea, the following year, where he died aged 76.
