Say the name ‘J.M.W.Turner’ and straightaway one thinks of stunning, dramatic seascapes… and a capacity for experimenting on canvas in ways that no previous artist had dreamed of. Few would dispute his status as this country’s greatest landscape painter.
But then there are so many aspects of his life that few of us are aware of. For example, Turner’s House in Twickenham is – in terms of size – his greatest piece of artwork. For JMW Turner was also an architect.
Turner’s House is a charming ‘rural retreat’, and also a fascinating client because of their remit to tell a largely unknown story to a growing number of followers and visitors.
Painting the town ochre, cobalt, lake and viridian
The brief on this heritage design project was to create visitor interpretation panels for the house and garden. It was an eye-opening creative process… as we set out to reveal the lesser known details of Turner’s life and how they relate to his time in Twickenham and the Thames landscape which inspired him.
At our disposal was a richness of stories, anecdotes, artworks and artefacts such as Turner’s watercolour box, which we weaved into the designs. But most inspiring of all, was ‘a little chart of the colours he used’ from which backgrounds were chosen, and swatches plucked out and reproduced in the corners as linking devices, threading all the designs together.
Our meetings were often held in the tiny basement kitchen, where Turner’s father ‘Old Dad’ would sit and smoke his pipe.
Attracting the general public
The culmination of this project was a set of panels for the interior of the house and exterior panels for the entrance and garden, which also included the making of wooden frames to exhibit them.
“The interpretation panels are colourful and expertly designed. Paul at TCE was an absolute pleasure to work with and was incredibly cool and calm in response to the many amendments to the text and images that I asked from him. The designs for the front of the museum have received praise from the general public and staff, whilst the internal panels are playful yet informative and set against some beautiful artwork. The attention to design detail and professional attitude I can only commend and I wholeheartedly praise TCE’s commitment to the project and endorse their very many admirable skills”.
