New Exhibition inspired by J.M.W. Turner launched in his former home

The paintings are the culmination of a six-month residency, sponsored by the Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust and Astor Foundation, conveying the mood and atmospheric change of the river as J.M.W. Turner’s riverscapes did nearly 200 years ago. The large oil on paper in the small parlour is a butterfly print which mimics water’s reflection and references the Rorschach test to give the piece both a physical and psychological narrative.

Anna, whose work has been exhibited worldwide, started painting the exhibits in a studio on the Greenwich peninsula at the start of lockdown. As the city ground to a halt she found the constancy of the Thames reassuring. “I often thought of how these same landscapes provided a similar grounding for Turner, a subject that he returned to throughout his life, in his use of light, colour and situation.”

When designing Sandycombe Lodge (now called Turner’s House) in 1813, he originally built a central tower to give him a view of the river, later becoming his bedroom and Anna set out to share his same view, over 170 years later, immersing herself in the experimental techniques of J.M.W. Turner’s paintings of the Thames. The works are oil or watercolours on paper, a material which she felt reflected a kind of impermanence and temporality central to Turner’s work. “He too used materials that he knew would fade and change just like the scenes and moments that he was depicting,” said Anna.

As part of the residency, Anna has also been creating workshops with Turner’s House for Age Concern and local primary schools focussing on the playful and experimental aspects of Turner’s practice.

Turner’s House, Sandycombe Lodge, 40 Sandycoombe Road, St Margarets, Twickenham TW1 2LR is open Wednesday-Sunday: 12–1pm: Self-guided visits, and 1-4pm: Guided Tours turnershouse.org.