Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Birth of J.M.W. Turner

2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851). Turner is widely regarded as the greatest landscape painter of all time and one of the most influential of British artists. The study and appreciation of Turner has always been an area of interest for the Paul Mellon Centre (PMC), which has provided support for some of the most innovative and impactful research in the field, including publishing the prize-winning catalogue raisonné of Turner’s paintings by Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll in 1984, Eric Shanes’ definitive biography Young Mr Turner (2016) and Sam Smiles’ searching critical study, The Late Works of J.M.W. Turner (2020).

In 2023 the PMC awarded Tate financial support of £387,144.90 towards completing the Tate catalogue J.M.W. Turner: Drawings, Sketchbooks and Watercolours. Launching in November 2025, this will be a centrepiece in a year of activities and events marking this important anniversary.

PMC’s Director, Sarah Turner comments: “The activities in this anniversary year have given us the opportunity to reflect on the legacies of Turner’s career for the histories of British art and the power and relevance of his work to scholars and audiences today. Working in collaboration with a number of partners, the PMC has supported new research which will be showcased across events, publications, online projects and exhibition displays.”

Highlights include:

March 29, 2025–July 27, 2025

Exhibition: J.M.W. Turner: Romance and Reality at the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), New Haven, USA.

This exhibition, the first show focused on Turner to be held at the YCBA in more than thirty years, will showcase the museum’s rich holdings of the artist’s work. Unequalled in North America, this collection includes some of Turner’s most acclaimed oil paintings, notably his masterpiece Dort or Dordrecht: The Dort Packet-Boat from Rotterdam Becalmed (1818) and his celebrated later painting Staffa, Fingal’s Cave (1831–32). Alongside these major works, the exhibition will also feature outstanding watercolours and prints from the YCBA’s collection, including the artist’s only complete sketchbook outside of the British Isles.

16 April 2025

Lecture: Pantzer Lecture organised by the Turner Society, PMC, London, UK

The foury-fifth Kurt Pantzer Memorial Lecture will be given by Leo Costello (Rice University, Houston, Texas).

While great attention has been paid to Turner’s later career, much less has been given to his early work. This lecture will consider both definitions of and stakes in the concept of "Early Turner". It will begin by addressing the challenges to even creating such a category: where, for instance, to begin and end it and on what basis – the work or Turner’s biography? Next, even if no such category has previously been defined, Leo Costello will consider the role Turner's earlier works have played in the minds of his critics during and after the artist's lifetime, up to the present day. Lastly, Costello will argue a more particular case for the modern relevance of "Early Turner", not just for a fuller understanding of his overall work, but in the light of pressing contemporary concerns including climate change, disability and social justice.

April 2025 – April 2026

Display: The Turner Bequest at Tate Britain, London, UK

A special display in the Clore Gallery at Tate Britain explores highlights and curiosities unearthed by our team of Turner Cataloguers as they work to complete the catalogue for this anniversary year.

Supported by the PMC.

November 2025

Catalogue: J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

Over twenty years in the making, Tate’s comprehensive online catalogue of the Turner Bequest’s sketchbooks, drawings and watercolours will be completed in 2025. Images and descriptions of every one of his 37,500 works on paper will be made available to all for free on Tate’s website. This definitive guide, written by art historians and curators, will offer an unparalleled study of the breadth of style, subjects and geography represented in Turner’s work, as well as providing a unique insight into the artist’s ideas and practice.

Supported by the PMC.

Book: Turner and the Slave Trade by Sam Smiles

To be published 25 November 2025.

Drawing on extensive archival research, Turner and the Slave Trade traces the artist’s interactions with patrons tied to the plantation economy and examines the impact of abolitionist discourse on his work. Key chapters investigate The Slave Ship, its inspiration, and its contested interpretations, while situating Turner within broader debates about art, slavery and shifting public sentiment.

Sam Smiles is honorary professor at the University of Exeter, and the author of The Late Works of J.M.W. Turner: The Artist and His Critics (2020).

4 to 5 December 2025

Conference: "Exploring Turner’s Legacy", Tate Britain, London.

This two-day international conference will provide an opportunity to understand the latest research into Turner’s work. Leading experts and curators from around the world will gather at Tate Britain for an array of panel events, presentations and exhibition tours. At the end of Turner’s 250th year, this symposium will give academics a chance to reflect on the year’s programme and hear from emerging scholars in the field. It will also explore dialogues between the historic and the contemporary, and across disciplines, to consider Turner in his own time as well as his resonance today.

Supported by The Manton Foundation Fund for Historic British Art Scholarship and the PMC.

Film

Turner cataloguer Vanessa Otim participates in a film made by Tate for the exhibition Dialogues with Turner at the Museum of Art Pudong, Shanghai. She discusses the bequest and her work cataloguing his works on paper, bringing behind-the-scenes art-historical investigation to an international audience.

Supported by the PMC.

Image: J.M.W. Turner, Self-Portrait, c.1799, 98.5 x 82 cm. Digital image courtesy of Tate (N00458).