A pastel sunset with a pink sky, blue middle strip, and beige foreground

Impressions in Watercolour: Turner and his Contemporaries

Exhibition passed: 23 May 2025 – 14 September 2025

Included in general admission tickets
Suitable for all ages
Wheelchair accessible

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Impressions in Watercolour: Turner and his Contemporaries

In the 250th anniversary year since his birth, this is a rare opportunity to see some of Turner’s finest watercolours from a private collection.

The exhibition showcases Turner at his most experimental and gestural. The selection of works also place him among notable contemporaries including Thomas Girtin and John Sell Cotman, to highlight the era of exciting developments in watercolour in which they worked. The collection of works encapsulates the transition towards looser, plein-air sketching, in which new directions, materials and techniques were being explored, building an impetus that validated watercolour as an expressive and serious medium.

Supporters

Van and Eva DuBose

David Posnett OBE

J M W Turner, ‘Sunset’, c.1840, watercolour and bodycolour on buff paper, IA23. Private Collection, photography © David Kirkham Fisheye Images
J M W Turner, ‘Kingsdown Hill, Bath’, c.1792, watercolour, graphite and ink on paper, IA31. Private Collection, photography © David Kirkham Fisheye Images
Holburne Turner exhibition by Jo Hounsome Photography
Holburne Turner exhibition by Jo Hounsome Photography
Holburne Turner exhibition by Jo Hounsome Photography