23 April: JMW Turner

This date in 1775 saw the birth of J.M.W. (Joseph Mallord William) Turner, English landscape painter. He is known for his romantic landscapes and seascapes, and for the Turner Prize, which was named after him.

1. We don't know for sure that he was born on April 23, but this was the date Turner himself claimed as his birthday. He was born in Covent Garden, London. His father, William, was a barber and wig maker. He was the eldest child of William and his wife Mary. He had a younger sister called Mary Anne, but she died when she was about five years old.
2. His mother struggled with mental illness, and the death of her daughter made it worse. In 1800, she was admitted to the Bethlem Hospital or Bedlam, an infamous mental asylum.
3. Turner was something of a child prodigy in art. By the time he was thirteen, his father was selling his pictures in the barber shop and boasting that his son was going to be a famous artist. At 14, he was admitted to the Royal Academy art school and had his first painting accepted for exhibition there when he was 15. At 18, he had his own studio in London. He was elected an associate of the Academy at 24, the youngest permitted age.
4. He developed a routine of travelling in the summer with a sketchbook, looking for inspiration for his work and working on his paintings during the winter months. He had sufficient wealthy patrons to fund his travels, including trips abroad. Venice was one of his favourite places, along with Otley in Yorkshire.
5. He produced over 500 paintings, over 2,000 watercolours and over 30,000 drawings. His most famous works include Rain, Steam and Speed, The Fighting Temeraire (voted Britain's favourite painting in a 2005 BBC poll), and Fishermen At Sea.
6. He never married, but had two significant relationships, both with widows. The first was Sarah Danby, the widow of one of his friends. She was 10 years older than him. She had two daughters who are believed to have been fathered by Turner, although he never acknowledged them, leaving the bulk of his estate and his paintings to his housekeeper. His second relationship was with Sophia Caroline Booth, an independent widow 25 years younger than him. He lived with her in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea until he died.
7. He was known for being antisocial, eccentric and secretive. His closest friend was his father, who lived with him and worked as his studio assistant for 30 years. The death of his father in 1829 led to him becoming even more eccentric and suffering from depression. He could hardly bear to part with his paintings and would suffer prolonged states of dejection whenever he sold one. He was a habitual user of snuff (in 1838, Louis Philippe I, King of France gave him a gold snuff box) and sometimes drank several pints of rum in a day.
8. He especially liked painting storms, rough seas and fires. He allegedly rushed to the Houses of Parliament when he heard it was on Fire, so he could paint the burning building. He was known as “the painter of light”, and would do strange things to his paintings to make them look better. He was known to spit on them or smear stale beer, tobacco or snuff on them. He didn't make his paintings to last, necessarily, either. He knew the pigment carmine was prone to fading, but he used it anyway.
9. He died of cholera at the age of 76 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His last words were allegedly “The Sun is God”.
10. He has been played on screen by Leo McKern and Timothy Spall. As well as having the Turner Prize, awarded annually to a visual artist under the age of 50, named for him, from 2020 he will appear on the new design of the £20 note.

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

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Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two