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Academic painters continues to complained that Turner had lost all form in a haze of light. Although his paintings became more abstract in expression he was able to maintain a delicate balance in the structure of elements within his paintings...something that was hotly debated as time went on. Turner was a guest of Lord Egremont, at his country Petworth mansion in West Sussex many times through the years. He considered it one of the most beautiful houses in England, and did many paintings of the interior and exterior of the mansion. Like other acquaintances, Turner met Lord Egremont through a purchase of the artists' work. Turner found a particular attraction to natures violence, from the stormy landscapes of the Alps in Switzerland to storms at sea. He once told a young fellow artist... "What you do not know yet, at your age...is that you ought to paint your impressions." and went on to say of his painting "Snow Storm"..."I did not paint it to be understood, but I wished to show what such a scene was like." Another well known story of Turner's devotion to understand the visual effect of a moment in time, was his statement on one of his trips at sea... "I got the sailors to lash me to the mast to observe it; I was lashed for four hours, and I did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it, if I did." "The Peace-Burial at Sea" painting depicted the funeral at sea for Sir David Wikie. One day, as Turner sat drawing the port of Plymouth with a boat seen against the light, a naval officer remarked that the ship had no portholes..."No" said Turner... "Of course not. If you climb Mount Edgecumbe and look at the vessels against the light, you'll see that you cannot perceive the portholes"... "very well said the officer, but you know that the portholes are there?..."Yes" said Turner..."Of course I know that, but my job is to draw what I see, not what I know." Turner visited Italy for the last time in 1841-1842, being well into his 60's. Later he made a trip to Switzerland, Heidelberg, and the Rhine in 1844. The Great Western Railway locomotive, traveling at speeds of more than 90 mph, was the fastest train in Europe at the time. Turner being a passenger during 1844, remarked that he had put his head out the window during a rain storm, for more than nine minutes to observe the effect of the speed and wind. In July of 1845 Turner was chosen as the eldest Academician to carry out the duties of President of the Royal Academy, during the illness of the then elected President. His last trip abroad would be a trip to Deppe and the coast of Picardy in the autumn of 1845. In late life his work became more and more unstructured and unstable...much like his personal life, as he appeared to deteriorate into alcoholism. He became more reclusive, sometimes disappearing for days. He did buy a home during this time. The woman who had owned it, known as Mrs. Booth, continued to live there as his housekeeper for a number of years. On his death he willed the property to her. She never knew his real name, or that he was a wealthy and famous man. The tavern's that he frequented knew him only as an impoverished naval officer by the name of Admiral Booth. As the end grew near for Turner, his diet consisted of mainly rum and milk. Sometimes drinking two quarts a day of the mixture. He would always take a bottle of gin with him when he went out to sketch. Shortly before his last breath was taken, Turner said... "It is through these eyes, closed forever at the bottom of the tomb, that generations as yet unborn will see nature." Turner died in his room on December 19, 1851, overlooking the Thames river. The attending Doctor wrote..."Just before 9 am the sun burst forth and shown directly on him with that brilliancy which he loved to gaze on. He died without a groan..." Despite the fact that he made few friends, a crowd gathered at St. Paul's Cathedral...as he was laid to rest beside the tomb of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Most of his fortune was left to the public, including more than 19,000 pieces of his work. |
