Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) Great Yarmouth Harbour, Norfolk, c.1840 Photo © National Gallery of Ireland. (click to enlarge)
Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) The Grand Canal Venice from below the Rialto Bridge, Venice, c.1820 Photo © National Gallery of Ireland. (click to enlarge)
The National Gallery of Ireland’s magnificent collection of watercolours by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) will be on annual display during January 2011. These delicate watercolours are only ever shown at this time of year, when natural light in these latitudes is at its lowest. For January 2011 the theme is care of the collection, past and present. It examines how Turner’s watercolours have been cared for before and after they entered the collection of the National Gallery in 1900. Information on conservation methods from Victorian times is included. Areas like pigments, fading and lux levels are addressed. The Turner watercolour were bequeathed to the gallery by the English collector Henry Vaughan.