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In this gallery you will find a film charting Turner’s life and career through his abiding love of travel. Born in Covent Garden in 1775, the artist lived and worked in London. However, he spent a large part of each year visiting different parts of Britain and Europe. Turner’s passion for landscape accompanied a restless urge for exploration and adventure, and he became one of the most prolific artist-tourists of his generation. Leaving home and heading off on tour with his sketchbooks was an essential part of his working practice.

The film features interviews with curators, conservators, writers and historians. It introduces various works by Turner and takes us to the locations that inspired them. Alongside descriptions of the challenges of 19th-century travel – some dramatic, some humorous – we share in his impressions of the people and scenery he encountered. From the mountains of Wales to the grandeur of the Swiss Alps, and from the hazy Italian countryside to the English seaside at Margate, the film recreates the sights and sounds that characterised Turner’s experience of place, and which influenced his innovative approach to painting.