Turner: The Life of Britain's Greatest Painter

by James Hamilton

J.M.W Turner exhibited his work proudly but was correspondingly reticent about his private life. In 1799, aged 24, he became an Associate of the Royal Academy at the youngest possible age. While influential collectors competed to buy his paintings, Turner travelled widely, observing landscape and people, and collecting material for a cycle of images that would come to express the collective identity of Britain. In this lucid blend of vibrant biography and acute art history, James Hamilton introduces Turner to a new generation of readers and paints a picture of a uniquely generous human being, a giant of the nineteenth century and a beacon for the twenty-first.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction

541 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 1997

About the author

James Hamilton is a curator, writer and lecturer, who entered the University of Manchester to read Mechanical Engineering, and emerged with a degree in History of Art.

Reviews

[Richard Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turner is my favourite painter. I get a buzz from his paintings that I don't get from any other artist's. I consider him to be the greatest painter whoever lived so I guess you could say I'm a bit of a fanboy where Turner is concerned. This is an excellent biography being well researched, sympathetic but not blind and focused on Turner's art. It brings the man to life while explaining his progress as a painter. Turner's work rate was astonishing, as was his fortitude. Having read this biography I feel that my appreciation of the artist and his works has increased greatly.

[The Bookish Wombat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit of a slog, not because it wasn't interesting but because it was so dense. There is just so much information in it that I could only read it when I was totally awake and alert, and I couldn't read very much of it at a time as I soon reached information overload. Having said that it's a fascinating warts and all portrait of Turner and of his age.

[Steve Ripley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have previously read Frannie Moyles’ biography of Turner but felt that I got a different viewpoint which added to what I already knew. F.M’s book was good on the historical context, especially with regard to the Napoleonic wars. The current biography was stronger on Turner’s friends and patrons, in particular Wally Fawkes and Lord Egremont. Hamilton is also stronger on Mrs Booth and Danby, making them more rounded characters.
To be honest, if you are interested in Turner, read both!
I have seen other reviews say that Hamilton goes in to too much descriptive detail on the paintings. I would counter that without that description, a biography would be just a dull recitation of facts. This is art, and politically committed art at that.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish this. It is just too dense, I really don’t need to know the detail of every single painting in depth, I just wanted an overview of his life.

I’m obviously a lightweight …