GRASMERE.- Outstanding works by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), from The Courtauld in London, will be displayed together for the first time in this exciting exhibition at the Wordsworth Museum and Art Gallery. The variety of style and technique seen in these works is evidence of the Turner's extraordinarily inventive approach to the making of landscape in watercolour.

The works to be displayed in the exhibition are the product of a lifetime of journeying through Britain and the Continent in search of appealing subject matter. Intensely ambitious, Turner was constantly aware of the need to attract attention to his art. Following in his footsteps, the exhibition will pursue his aims and ambitions, stressing the vital contribution of patronage and print publication and the role of collectors and friends, most notably the influential art critic, John Ruskin, as champions and promoters of his work. Sketchbooks, single prints and book illustrations will be shown alongside complimentary works to illustrate the artist's working process and to explore the transmission of his ideas and visual images through the different media.