This being the 250th anniversary of JMW Turner’s death, there are any number of events and exhibitions dedicated to the great man, who was, let’s not forget, one of the great revolutionaries of world art, an Impressionist avant la lettre. Check out in particular the sketchbooks and drawings in a show at the Tate called Cataloguing Turner’s Bequest which is the culmination of the recording of the enormous archive that Turner left to the nation and displays some of the highlights.
But there’s an altogether less showy little exhibition in Twickenham in Turner’s actual house, his summer retreat. It’s a small house, Sandycombe Lodge, one he designed himself with a little help from Sir John Soane, which, according to the PR, makes it Turner’s largest single work. It’s in Twickenham, about five minutes from St Margaret’s station. In his day, it was farmland all around with a nice unimpeded view of all the grand residences like Strawberry Hill, with a nice garden attached. It was where he lived whenever he could, between 1813-1826, with his frugal old father, a barber, before they returned to Maida Vale. It’s nicely proportioned and restored, as much as possible, in the spirit of the original.
