Unseen Turner and Bonington watercolours now on display

Turner and Bonington: Watercolours from the Wallace Collection is a new display of previously unseen watercolours by two of the most significant  watercolour painters of the 19th century - Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) and Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828).  It opened yesterday and is on for the next six months - until 21 April 2024 - in what's known as 'The Housekeeper's Room' on the ground floor just beyond the shop.

Turner and Bonington are two of the finest watercolour painters that England has ever produced. Plus these 19th century watercolours are normally kept in storage as they are very sensitive to light - and they have never been exhibited before at the Wallace Collection or elsewhere.

Richard Parkes Bonington
Venice_ The Doge’s Palace from the Ponte della Paglia, c. 1827-28
© The Trustees of the Wallace Collection

There are only 9 small previously unseen. watercolour paintings and 1 medium sized oil painting however they are definitely worth a trip to see them. The paintings are arranged in themes:

• Turner and Yorkshire (4 paintings)
• Bonington and Normandy (3 Paintings)
• Bonington's Views of Venice (3 paintings)

“The theme of the display is travel; in the sense of finding captivating views whether within the confines of one’s own country or through exploring other countries. The Normandy coves depicted by Bonington were notorious at the time for smuggling, which would have piqued the curiosity of the contemporary viewer, while Venice was, of course, the centre of the Grand Tour and attracted artists and aristocratic tourists in great numbers.”
Dr Lucy Davis, Curator at the Wallace Collection

Another theme relates to how each artist dealt with painting light and atmosphere. 

Turner and Yorkshire

Four watercolours about Yorkshire by JMW Turner

Turner spent a long career based in Britain but also travelled extensively around the UK and across Europe.

This first series is of Yorkshire and are four views painted for Sir William Pilkington (1775-1850) who was a contemporary of Turner and a close family friend. He was based at Chevet Hall near Wakefield.

The four watercolours followed his normal process of being 

• based on "on the spot" plein air sketches - in the sketchbooks which now form part of the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain.
• subsequently worked up into finished watercolour paintings either in his studio or in Yorkshire.

They comprise (left to right):