Turner : The Life of Britain's Greatest Painter

The definitive biography of J.M.W. Turner, reissued to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth.

'A pleasure to read' A.S. Byatt

'With splendid clarity and shrewd humour, James Hamilton evokes the visceral world of a great artist and a fascinating character' Mike Leigh, Academy Award-winning director of Mr. Turner

J.M.W. Turner became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1799, aged just twenty-four. As influential collectors competed to buy his paintings, he travelled widely. In an era defined by industrial change and social turbulence, he observed both landscape and people, gathering material for a series of works that would come to express the collective identity of Britain.

Blending vibrant biography and art history, James Hamilton paints a remarkable portrait of an eccentric and enigmatic figure. He examines the fascinating conflicts of Turner's life and legacy, revealing him to be a giant of the nineteenth century and a beacon for the twenty-first.