JMW Turner – Sea View National Galleries of Scotland. Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900
The annual Turner exhibition held at the National Gallery of Ireland in January is different in 2025. This year – the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth – is being marked by an exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. In an exhibition which opens today 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours from the Scottish collection will be displayed in the Print Gallery in Dublin, while the National Gallery of Ireland’s Turner collection will be showcased at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. The show runs until January 31.
These watercolours highlight his mastery of light, colour and atmosphere, and his ability to draw attention to the human experience within the natural world. In 1900, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Galleries of Scotland received watercolours and drawings by J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) through the bequest of collector Henry Vaughan (1809–1899). Vaughan’s will divided his Turner collection between the national galleries in Dublin, Edinburgh, and London, with the stipulation that they be exhibited every January, free of charge. Since 1901, the National Gallery of Ireland and National Galleries of Scotland have proudly upheld this tradition.