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A photograph of a Turner painting displayed in a golden frame. The painting shows an older man in smart dress standing in front of a large canvas. He holds a variety of paintbrushes as two similarly dressed me look on, seemingly instructing him. There is an umbrella propped up in the foreground and a large green cloth discarded on the floor. A photograph of a Turner painting displayed in a golden frame. The painting shows an older man in smart dress standing in front of a large canvas. He holds a variety of paintbrushes as two similarly dressed me look on, seemingly instructing him. There is an umbrella propped up in the foreground and a large green cloth discarded on the floor.
Story | 30 June 2023

Talking Art: Turner on Varnishing Day by William Parrott

William Parrott, Turner on Varnishing Day, 1846. Image © Sheffield Museums

Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775 – 1851) was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist.

He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulent marine paintings. This painting by William Parrott is a rare portrait of the artist in his later years, from a sketch taken as the painter attended Varnishing Day at the Royal Academy of Art. The painting reveals Turner's eccentricity and how he went about his work.

Our Talking Art series digs deeper into some of the highlights from the city’s museum collections. Find out more about the stories behind the artworks and how they were created.

 

See more from our Talking Art series here

 

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