AFA Winter 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 71 2019 J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851), Storm over the Mountains, ca. 1842–1843. Graphite, watercolor and pen and ink on paper, 228 x 291 mm. Tate: Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856 © Tate, 2019. Late in life, Turner travelled to Europe nearly every summer, determinedly moving across France, Germany, and Switzerland in search of subjects to inspire new artworks for his public. Among the most coveted of these late watercolors are his views of the Swiss Alps, which seem to serve as the perfect stage for the shifts in weather so central to his romantic view of nature. These were the works most cherished by art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900), when he catalogued the veritable mountain of paper reclaimed from Turner’s studio in the 1850s, and remain favorites today. At time of writing a watercolor of the Rigi Mountain near Lucerne was barred from export from the UK, in the hopes a British museum could secure the means to keep it in country. Such politics in art are a reminder of how significant a loan like this one from Tate are for an American audience. This is what makes J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate , the exhibition at Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, in partnership with Tate, London, so momentous. Curated by David Blayney Brown, Tate’s Manton Senior Curator of British Art 1790-1850, nearly one hundred watercolors (along with a handful of significant oils and a sketchbook), trace the entirety of Turner’s career, from the 1790s to the 1840s, revealing the artist’s relentless investigation of his surroundings, in a format often reserved for his own eyes. On display through February 2020, it is the largest number of watercolors from the Turner Bequest ever to visit this continent, marking an opportunity for pilgrimage, to commune with some of the most coveted artworks in the Western Canon.  Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut, will be the only North American venue for the exhibition. J. M. W. Turner: Watercolors from the Tate is on view through February 23, 2020. For information, visit mysticseaport.org or call 860.572.0711. Nicholas R. Bell is President and CEO of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta. He wrote this article while still senior vice president for curatorial affairs at Mystic Seaport Museum. Continued from page 64