Turner 1775-1851.

The current exhibition until the 25 January at Tate Britain of Turner is a joy to behold. This is of his last sixteen years of work from his sixties and seventies when he was prodigiously productive. His pictures are sublime and there is a small pallet with oil paint still on it. He was a known to be a somewhat curmudgeonly elder chap. Captured with panache in the recent film of the same name. One tends to forget that he was also the master of watercolour. He was an inveterate traveler across Europe and some of his best pictures are of these travels. He generally traveled light and alone, despite the improvements of road and would often walk for miles to find the right spot. He always had a sketch book and drew constantly. When Monet saw his pictures in London at the National Gallery he was greatly impressed and this influenced his work and that of the Impressionists. I went with my daughter on Sunday to see the works of Turner and what a joy it was for both of us.