It is that time of year again where we welcome an honoured Scottish tradition which has spanned over a century, the annual display of Turner watercolours.
These watercolours, renowned for their excellent state of preservation were bequeathed by Henry Vaughan (1809-1899). Vaughan was the son of a wealthy hat maker. At the age of 21 he came into a large fortune which helped him create a diverse collection of pictures. These artworks were not only chosen for quality and condition but also scholarly intention of reflecting each stage of Turner's long career.
Vaughan died unmarried in 1899. Under the terms of his will, Vaughan's watercolours were divided between the National Galleries of Ireland and Scotland, The British Museum and the Victorian & Albert Museum.
Vaughan stipulated that measures should be taken to preserve his bequest in its fresh & brilliant condition. In his will he stipulated that the watercolours be 'exhibited to the public at one time free of charge during the month of January.'
Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London in 1775 and died there in 1851. A total of 38 watercolours in the Vaughan Bequest embody most periods of Turner's career. Ranging from the blue and green wash of his 'Monro Period' drawings of the 1790s; The works which derive from his early travels in Brittan and the European Continent; His illustration projects in partnership with publishers and engineers; to his views of Germany, Venice and Switzerland dating from the 1830s to the 1840s.
Turner was one of the first to exploit the full potential of watercolour. The awesome magnitude and spontaneous vigour of his finest landscapes are here seen as vividly as both Turner and Vaughan had intended them.
