The Study Day will examine how in the 250th anniversary year of the birth of Jane Austen (1775-1817) & JMW Turner (1775-1851), show us how two very different personalities were pioneers in their fields, their parallel worlds changed how we see the world. Austen’s novels & Turner’s art reflected the Georgian, Regency & Victorian eras in Britain, a time of profound social, political, and cultural change.  Austen nor Turner were fully appreciated for their genius in their own lifetimes and yet both were keen observers of their rapidly changing world. They laid the groundwork for modern artistic sensibilities.

Lecture One: Turner’s Early Years

The first lecture examines Turner’s humble Covent Garden origins, where his father was a barber. His artistic ability and aspirations were apparent at an early age and his acceptance into the Royal Academy when he was 14. He travelled widely, both in Britain and across the Continent. We will examine some of his key early works.  We will meet his influential mentors Joshua Reynolds & John Julius Angerstein, who exposed him to great works of art that would influence the rest of his career.  

Lecture Two: Jane Austen’s London

Beginning with a brief overview of Jane’s early years in Hampshire, we then see London through her eyes. Although she never lived in the capital, she stayed frequently, spending much of her time in the West End close to our lecture venue Burlington House where her publishers were located.

We’ll take trips with her to galleries, shops & the theatres to see how they fed her creativity and learn of an unlikely royal connection.

Lecture Three: Turner’s Later Years and Legacy

Jane Austen died in1817 aged 41, at a time when Turner was entering a completely new phase of his career. We will look at how he became fascinated with the technological advances of the age, including steamships, railways and how his technique became much more radical & abstract earning him the title ‘the Father of Impressionism’.