Turner's Influence in the 21st Century
Turner has influenced many artists and critics this century. This page will celebrate those influences
Selby's Personal Impressions
An autobiographical romp with Selby through Ruskin, Shakespeare, wine-making and post-war France, with some important figures thrown in and a Turner picture showing Turner's heroes, unexpectedly Byron, Walter Scott and Thomas Moore. Well worth a read! As a taster, Selby relates that this picture was owned by TS Eliot's widow!
The £20 Turner !
Here's a link to the Bank of England's announcement.
The iNews carried a longer article: "JMW Turner: why the painter was chosen as the face of the new £20 note". The article relates that Turner was part of a longlist of 590 noteworthy figures, made the shortlist of 5, and was then selected. Mark Carney, outgoing Governor of the Bank of England, explained:
“Turner’s painting was transformative, his influence spanned lifetimes, and his legacy endures today. The new £20 note celebrates Turner, his art and his legacy in all their radiant, colourful, evocative glory.”
While Artist Tracey Emin, who attended the note’s unveiling and hails from Margate, said: “What is really fantastic about Turner being on this note is he was wild and he was a maverick. This note is going to go all over the world and wherever I go I can say: ‘This is where I come from.’ Not just Margate but art. I come from art.”
Turner Celebrated at Margate
Mrs Booth, Turner's landlady and mistress for 20 years is celebrated here in a remarkable sculpture by Ann Carrington. Named "Mrs Booth" or more locally as the Shell Lady her bronze sculpture stands nearly 12 feet tall in Margate. Here is a link
to the website that gives more information.
David Cregeen
David Cregeen is a leading British sculptor with a home and studio in Southern Turkey. He grew up in Scotland, whose landscapes inspired him, as they had Turner. In Cregeen's own words "Turner's work became a touch-stone and profound influence in my own development as a sculptor finding particular expression in my sculpture 'Rockman' and later 'Cirali'. 'Rockman' quite explicitly depicts the interaction between man and Nature and 'Cirali', a figure interacting with the sea, was created following my move to Southern Turkey and expressing the joyful interaction between the two. A figure inspired by Stravinsky's ballet 'The Rite of Spring' was again inspired and created within that conceptual framework of Turner's great works."
Cirali
DAVID CREGEEN'S PERSONAL STATEMENT
In his own words, "From my earliest childhood the power of music and the power and pull of Nature have been there and continued to this day. The latter first came into my conscious recognition when I saw the paintings of JMW Turner in my mid-teens on a visit to London."
"Turner's genius of expression was also an influence in my portrait sculpture, notably the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, another link to Scotland. It was a commission from the Honourable Society of Middle Temple to mark Her Late Majesty's 90th birthday. After the work had been completed and cast into bronze I arranged to have an audience with the Queen Mother at Clarence House in order to show to show her the finished bronze prior to its official presentation at Middle Temple. As I was leaving, she said to me 'see you again soon' to which I replied- I hope so Ma'm. As one says in Turkey - 'Insallah' and to which she replied 'Yes Insallah' with a small wave of her hand!"
More about Cregeen's work can be read through this link, including the extended article from which these quotes were taken. More photos of his work are to be found in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cregeen
or in the Facebook page Fans of David Cregeen:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/88499377029/