J.M.W. Turner: Drawings, Watercolours and Sketchbooks in the Turner Collection
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J.M.W. Turner Scarborough, circa 1825 Tate. Bequested by the artist, 1856 |
Tate's holdings of drawings, watercolours and sketchbooks by J.M.W. Turner are among its greatest treasures. The vast majority of these, numbering approximately 37,000 accessioned works, came to the nation as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856. However, the only published catalogue of these remains A.J. Finberg's A Complete Inventory of the Drawings of the Turner Bequest, which appeared in 1909, and is essentially a handlist.
Tate's website currently provides images and basic data on the collection. Tate is now moving to the next phase, a comprehensive revision of the Finberg volume and amplification of existing web entries to incorporate the wealth of recent research conducted inside and outside the gallery. The entries will provide full bibliographies, exhibition histories and critical comment. Technical and conservation data will also be included.
By providing the most up-to-date identification of Turner's wide-ranging subject matter, discussion of the contexts for his work, both historical and contemporary, and access to a broad spectrum of critical discourse, the project aims to be of benefit to a wide range of disciplines as well as to Turner specialists and exhibition makers.
Tate aims to complete the project by the end of 2011. Meanwhile, entries will be published on Tate's website.
Project team:
Dr David Blayney Brown, Curator, Tate Britain (co-ordinator); Ian Warrell, Curator, Tate Britain; Matthew Imms, Cataloguer, Tate Britain. The team will be expanded with effect from the end of 2006. It also comprises specialists who work on particular areas of the collection. These include Andrew Wilton, Senior Research Fellow (2003-5).
Supported by The Samuel H. Kress Foundation (2003, 2006), The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (2003-5) and The Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation (2003-5).
Updated October 2006
