What Comprises the Turner Bequest, and Where Is It?
The National Gallery
When Turner bequeathed his collection of works to commemorate his artistic achievements, they went to the National Gallery. The National Gallery’s website gives their view of what happened to the pictures in the Turner Bequest:
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/about-us/history/the-turner-bequest
The article states “The Turner Bequest comprised 100 finished pictures, 182 unfinished pictures and 19,049 drawings and sketches in colour and pencil. The majority of the bequest was transferred to the National Gallery of British Art [Tate] in 1897. The following paintings from Turner’s Collection, donated via the Turner Bequest, have remained at the National Gallery”:
Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus – Homer’s-Odyssey:
The Parting of Hero and Leander:
Two of these are not on display. They are Margate (?) from the Sea and The Evening Star, meaning only 7 are on display.
But why would a great artist like Turner, when bequeathing many of his greatest paintings to the Nation, include “182 unfinished pictures”? The answer is surely that Turner would have considered most of them to be finished, which makes the Bequest even more comprehensive and valuable.
The National Gallery has not provided a full list of the Turner Bequest. Dr Selby Whittingham has compiled a comprehensive list “Turner’s Turners – Finished and Unfinished Pictures”. The oils on canvas total 186 which is close to the National Gallery’s figure. It is very helpful that the list includes the titles and accession numbers, along with their dates, size, where held etc. It also shows it took many years for the National Gallery to catalogue this wonderful bequest.
Turner Oils in Tate Britain
The Tate has an extensive website that naturally features Tate Britain. It has an area dedicated to Turner but also does not appear to provide a full list of the Turner Bequest. However they have apparently digitised all their Turners (oils, watercolours and sketches) and placed them on the website. This was a mammoth undertaking so much praise is due to them for all the work their staff have done. Applying the search function to the oils, the url is:
https://www.tate.org.uk/search?aid=558&type=artwork&wot=6
This claims Tate Britain holds 302 oils by JMW Turner. Of these, 3 are stated to be attributions:
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Diana and Callisto (after Wilson)
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Tivoli and the Roman Campagna (after Wilson)
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Landscape with Windmill and Rainbow (after Gainsborough)
Dr Whittingham’s “Turner’s Turners – Finished and Unfinished Pictures” states on page 10 that in addition to the 286 oils the Tate holds another 8 Turner oils acquired separately. Subtracting the 3 attributions from the Tate’s total of 302, and the 8 Turners acquired separately, gives 291 Turners from the Bequest. Adding the National Gallery’s 9 makes a total of 300, more than the total of 290 oils stated by the National Gallery as in the Turner Bequest, and more than the 286 in the Turner Bequest. Is this a problem?
Praise is due to Tate Britain for displaying all but 4 images on their website so it is very clear which they hold. Unfortunately their inventory numbers differ from the original accession numbers so cross-referencing to identify gaps is not simple.
Turner Watercolours & Pencil Sketches in the Tate
According to the National Gallery’s website (link as above) “The entire bequest – most of which is now housed in the Clore Gallery at Tate Britain – comprises nearly 300 oil paintings and around 30,000 sketches and watercolours, including 300 sketchbooks. Tate Britain has by far the greatest number of pictures from the Turner Bequest.”
Searching for JMW Turners watercolours & pencil sketches on Tate Britain’s website (as distinct from Charles Turners or William Turners) reveals 32,507 results. This search url was used: https://www.tate.org.uk/search?aid=558&appt=prints_and_drawings&type=artwork
On the right of a selected picture one can click to find detail about each work and a informative catalogue entry. However, the search techniques do not appear available to find particular subjects, e.g. Somerhill or shipping off Cowes, or the ability to view a complete sketchbook page by page. Can anyone else manage this?
How Much of the Turner Bequest is on View?
As stated above, the National Gallery has 7 oils on “permanent” view, although the wonderful “Fighting Temeraire” is currently on loan to Newcastle (4th December 2024). As for the Tate, another search is very helpful with the url:
https://www.tate.org.uk/search?aid=558&gallery=tate_britain&type=artwork&wot=6
This shows the Tate has 52 oils on view.
A similar search shows 40 watercolours on view at the Tate, so in summary:
But the National Gallery’s website states “In 1848 Turner amended his will to include his collection of all his finished pictures. He wanted these pictures to be housed together in a room at the Gallery, which had by this time moved to its current building on Trafalgar Square.” Thus of Turner’s finished pictures, only 59 are on display, not 100 on display which was a condition of his Bequest.
Furthermore, these are not all in one room, as he intended, but split between two galleries. Again that contravenes his Bequest.
Of the 32,507 watercolours and sketches, only 40 are on view. There may be good reasons for this, notably lack of space, and the risk of watercolours fading irreparably in light. The Tate states that they can be viewed on request.
Concerns about the Turner Bequest
It is a shame that the Tate’s website, which contains such a wealth of material within the Turner Bequest, does not have better search techniques.
There is a larger concern about the Turner Bequest: the possibility of theft. Valuable objects vanished from the British Museum, the thefts being undiscovered over a number of years.
If there is uncertainty about the total content of the Turner Bequest, then can there be adequate controls in place to have recorded every painting or sketch, safeguard them, and have processes in place to audit that the Bequest is still complete?Perhaps there should be an organisation in place whose sole priority is to ensure the security and integrity of the Turner Bequest, and ensure the terms of Turner’s Bequest are met in full.