Turner’s Watercolors Go on Display at the Holburne Museum in Bath

18 May 2025

Malmesbury Abbey by JMW Turner is prepared for display by the Holburne’s Ian Warrell (left) and Chris Stephens. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

A captivating new exhibition at the Holburne Museum in Bath is shining a spotlight on the lesser-known yet deeply expressive watercolor works of J.M.W. Turner, one of Britain’s most iconic and influential artists. Titled Impressions in Watercolor, this showcase brings together 32 rare pieces that chart Turner’s evolution from a young prodigy to a pioneering figure in the art world.

Curated in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, which owns many of the works on display, the exhibition includes paintings that span Turner's long and prolific career. Visitors will encounter early topographical studies from his teenage years, detailed renderings of the English countryside that reveal his strong foundational skills as well as looser, more emotionally charged coastal landscapes from his later years. These pieces demonstrate how Turner's style shifted dramatically over time, moving from tight realism toward abstraction and atmospheric experimentation.

Highlights of the exhibition include watercolors painted along the Kent coast, where Turner spent many years capturing the changing moods of the sea. These works, many of which are rarely loaned out, showcase his masterful command of light, color, and transparency. The interplay of sky and water, often rendered in just a few swirls of pigment, captures fleeting impressions of nature moments that seem almost modern in their abstraction.

What makes this exhibition particularly special is its focus on Turner’s relationship with watercolour itself. Often overshadowed by his larger oil paintings, Turner’s watercolors are where many believe his most experimental and emotional expressions reside. He used the medium to explore effects that oils could not easily replicate: the soft blending of light, the delicate layering of colours, and the fluid movement of natural forces. His ability to manipulate the medium helped redefine landscape painting in the 19th century and influenced countless artists after him.

Dr. Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne Museum, described the exhibition as a “rare and intimate glimpse into the private world of Turner’s imagination.” He added, “These works allow us to see how Turner responded instinctively to the world around him, often in solitary reflection.”

The show also includes educational materials and digital installations that contextualize Turner’s watercolours within his broader body of work. Visitors can explore how his fascination with nature, weather, and light shaped his artistic philosophy, and how those ideas remain relevant in today’s art scene.

Impressions in Watercolor runs at the Holburne Museum until August 24, 2025. Whether you're a long-time admirer of Turner or new to his work, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to engage with a side of the artist that is as profound as it is poetic.