Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London, the son of a barber; he remained in London his entire life. He entered the Royal Academy Schools and also studied architecture. He earned his keep through landscape watercolours touring in the summers and working in a studio in the winters. Early works include views from Salisbury Cathedral and Stourhead. He exhibited many times at the Royal Academy, where many of his works are housed (he was elected to the Academy in 1802). His works were quite controversial – one Academy president called them ‘crude blotches’. He travelled widely in Europe, but returned to subjects closer to home such as the burning of the old Houses of Parliament and the warship Temeraire. John Ruskin pronounced him the greatest of English painters. Although he never married he was rumoured to have a number of clandestine relationships.
