J. M. W. Turner, Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino, 1839 (estimate £12-18 million, realized £29,721,250), via Sothebys.com

Master Paintings Week continues in London after a boost from the Christie’s and Sotheby’s Old Master auctions that took place on July 6th and 7th. The Sotheby’s auction earned £53,484,350 against a high estimate of £50.8 million, while the Christie’s sale realized £42.3 million against a pre-sale estimate of £36.9–55.3 million (totals realized include buyer’s premium, estimates do not). More than half of the Sotheby’s earnings came from the sale of a single canvas by J. M. W. Turner, which sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles for a staggering £29,721,250. The painting, showing a view of the Italian capital from the Capitoline Hill, has a sterling provenance and equally impressive exhibition history. The sale established a new record for the artist at auction.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Helvoetsluys – the City of Utrecht, 64, Going to Sea, Joseph Mallord William Turner (Exh 1832). Via Tate

In acknowledgment of the grand artistic tradition of admiration, imitation and competition, through January 31 Tate Britain will present the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner alongside some 100 related works by Old Masters and Contemporaries. Amid the 30+ artists presented are Canaletto, Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Veronese, Watteau and Constable.

Moonlight, a Study at Millbank, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1797). Via Tate

J.M.W. Turner is often regarded as one of the most artists of his time, whose work varied to include watercolors, oil paintings, drawings and prints. While Turner’s spirit is often deemed as independent, David Solkin, Professor of the Social History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, University of London who conceived the exhibition, wishes to highlight how Turner was in fact, deeply engaged with the work of other artists.

Related Links:
Tate Britain Website [Tate.org.uk]
Tate Britain exhibition revives Turner’s and Constable’s old rivalry [TimesOnline]
Turner and the Masters [Guardian.co.uk]
The Times; May 8, 1832 – Royal Academy Exhibition [TimesArchive]
Turner and Constable: We’ve lost the art of feuds for art’s sake [Telegraph.co.uk]
Revealed: how Turner began his career copying the old masters [TheIndependent]

More Images and text after the jump…

(more…)

J.M. Turner Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth, exhibited 1842 via Tate Britain

This Wednesday The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and The Tate Britain in London agreed to hold the first major exhibition in Russia of works by J.M.W. Turner, the renowned 19th century British painter. The exhibition will be solely financed by the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, who was ranked the 142nd richest man in the world in the 2007 Forbes 400 and who is the largest shareholder (24%) of Arsenal Football Club.

Billionare Takes Tate Works to Moscow [Guardian]
Usmanov Explains Why he Backed Turner Show [Bloomberg]
Turner Exhibition Set to Open in Russia [ArtDaily]
Tate sends Turners to Pushkin [TimesOnlineUK]
Press release from Tate Britain

More info and images after the jump… (more…)

Whalers by Turner via Bloomberg.

From July 1st, through September 21, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting the first retrospective exhibition of J.M.W. Turner. The exhibition will contain 140 diverse paintings. Most works come from Tate Britain which is the most comprehensive collection of the artist’s work in the world. Turner’s paintings represent seascapes, historical subjects, and modern scenes usually with a characteristic use of light.

Turner at the MET [Metropolitan Museum of Art]
J.M.W. Turner at the Metropolitan Museum Slideshow [NYTimes]
Storm-Tossed Visionary of Light [NYTimes]
Bloated Turner Show Arrives at Met Museum in Blaze of Colors [Bloomberg]
Nature Painted With Force [NY Sun]

(more…)