The 250th birthday of Britain’s foremost landscape painter J.M.W. Turner was celebrated at his former residence in Twickenham on 23 April.
Sandycombe Lodge, otherwise known as Turner’s House, was designed by Turner himself as a getaway from the bustle of London life, and is now a museum, with its interiors recreated as Turner would have had them.
The celebrations, organised with Visit Richmond, began at Tate Britain, where the nominees for the Turner prize were announced, before travelling to Sandycombe Lodge for champagne, cake, and a speech from Richmond’s mayor, and onto Richmond Hill to take in the inspiration for his painting, ‘England: Richmond Hill on the Prince Regent’s birthday’.
In his speech, the Mayor of Richmond Richard Pyne said: “We in this borough are very thrilled that he chose to design and build this house in our borough and to live in our borough.
“It was wonderful that he lived here so happily with his father for so long.”
The day also marked the opening of the museum’s new exhibition, ‘Turner’s Kingdom: Beauty, Birds, and Beasts’.
The collected artefacts include Turner’s own fishing rod, on loan from the Royal Academy, and a letter in which he signed his name with a cartoon of a mallard to signify the initial M for ‘Mallord’ in his name.
The exhibition curator Nicola Moorby said: “This exhibition feels like such a perfect fit for the house, which is somewhere where you get to see a behind-the-scenes look at Turner, you get to see behind that armour of secrecy which he created around himself.
“We’re focussing on the birds and beasts that were known to be part of Turner’s household and his world during his lifetime, and using them as a way to understand a bit more about Turner the man.”
Moorby said that it was a real thrill for her to bring the ‘Farnley birds’ to the exhibition from Leeds.
These watercolour paintings of birds including a turkey, a heron, and a peacock, were part of a private project created for Turner’s friend and patron Walter Fawkes of Farnley Hall.
Sandycombe Lodge, built in 1813, was reopened to the public in 2017 after painstaking year-long restoration efforts, including the removal of an extra storey and white paint on the exterior walls, as well as the recreation of furniture and wallpaper using scraps and inventories from Marylebone and Chelsea.
Chair of Turner’s House Trust Lucy Littlewood said: “I think it’s very much as Turner would have had it when he first moved in.
“I personally feel it would have been a little bit muckier and messier if Turner had just returned from a fishing trip with his dad, so that’s chapter two for where we want to take the house in its next iteration.
“We want to bring more of Turner the man into the house.”
Current fundraising efforts will go towards making the house feel more lived-in in an effort to conjure a feeling of Turner’s continued presence in the residence.
Among the attendees at the birthday celebrations were a number of art critics, curators, and biographers.
Dr Jacqueline Riding, a curator and biographer, said: “We know minute by minute what Turner was doing when he was touring Europe, or going to Italy, or around Great Britain, but it’s those little bits of the character, the little bits of personal life that come through, that’s the bit I find really exciting.”
Biographer and TV producer Franny Moyle said: “You want an environment where the past is still present.
“I think being able to time slip and discover little bits of our past, and have a communion with the past, is healthy.”
On Richmond Hill, the assembled group was treated to a talk from the curator and art historian Gillian Forrester, with a particular focus on ‘England: Richmond Hill on the Prince Regent’s birthday’ which depicts the protected view.
She said: “It’s about this view being absolutely emblematic of Englishness.
“He’s really interested in those sort of symbolic resonances.”
She finished her speech by saying: “I feel quite moved by having the opportunity to talk about this in front of this spectacular view.”
The exhibition ‘Turner’s Kingdom: Beauty, Birds, and Beasts’ will run until 26 October 2025.
Tickets and more information is available here: https://turnershouse.org/whats-on/
Picture credit: Ciaran Whyte
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