The Oxford Companion to J. M. W. Turner - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198600259 ISBN 13: 9780198600251

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2001

Synopsis

J. M. W. Turner is generally acknowledged not only as Britain's greatest painter, but as one of the finest and most original of all landscape artists. The Oxford Companion, the first reference work devoted entirely to this artist, is an authoritative guide to every aspect of his life, art, past and present reception, and the cultural, social, and political context in which he worked. Written by a team of the foremost Turner scholars in the world, the Companion presents the very latest information available in over 760 alphabetical articles that are easy-to-use and enjoyable to read. This one-of-a kind reference includes 32 exquisite color plates, a chronology of Turner's life and times, an extensive bibliography, and a listing of public collections of his works.

About this title

About the Author

Evelyn Joll is a former Chairman of Agnew's, the art dealers acknowledged for more than a century as the principal dealers in Turner's art. He was a founding member of the editorial board of the journal Turner Studies, and he was Chairman of the Turner Society from 1994 to 2000. Martin Butlin was an Assistant Keeper at the Tate Gallery, London, becoming Keeper of the Historic British Collection there from 1967 to 1989. He has also assisted in the selection and cataloguing of exhibitions on Turner and Blake. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and in 1990 was created CBE for services to art scholarship. Luke Herrmann is Emeritus Professor of the History of Art, University of Leicester. After a period as Senior Assistant Keeper in the Department of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, he moved to the University of Leicester, where he held the Chair of the History of Art from 1973 until his retirement in 1987. From 1981 to 1991 he was on the editorial board of Turner Studies, and has been honorary editor of The Walpole Society from 1993 to 2000. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, he lectures on Turner frequently in Britain and abroad, and is currently honorary Vice-President of the Turner Society.

From Booklist

What could be more British than an Oxford Companion to J. M. W. Turner? This solid handbook is as densely packed with articles about Turner's art and life as a proper plum pudding is stuffed with raisins. Turner (1775-1851), considered the greatest British painter, was a prolific artist and a private person. Page after double-columned page discusses nearly every aspect of Turner's work, from media and techniques to working practices, exhibited and unexhibited watercolors and oils, subject matter, and more. Turner's life, too, is examined in articles on his family, travels, interests, friends, and so on. Many of the signed entries are actually essays rather than brief paragraphs, and that is what makes this book useful for more than just quick reference.

All the alphabetically arranged entries are connected by a thorough system of cross-references. There is also a classified contents list at the front of the book that sets out the topics addressed in a well-organized array. What would an art reference book be without illustrations? The center of this work serves up 32 full-color plates reproducing some of Turner's finest watercolors and oils. A sizable bibliography with entries representing work by more than a few of the editors and contributors is appended, as is a list of public collections with works by Turner (with galleries and museums cross-referenced to the A-Z entries).

There is one other noteworthy feature: a chronology in which events in Turner's life; developments in painting, architecture, music and literature; and other events in Britain and abroad are listed side by side. A quick look at the chronology shows that Turner's career flourished in the same time period as the Romantic movement that engendered Wordsworth, Byron, and Blake as well as revolution on both sides of the Atlantic. The singular subject of this book makes it most appropriate for fine arts and large reference collections; however, any collection serving anglophiles and art lovers should also considering adding it. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0198600259
• ISBN 13: 9780198600251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 478
• Editor: Joll Evelyn, Butlin Martin, Herrmann Luke