EXCLUSIVE: The watercolours of J M W Turner (online lecture)

Image: Watercolour of Orford by J. M. W. Turner courtesy of Mick Duff

Tickets:

• £5 for OU students, alumni and staff (with your PI number)
• Otherwise £8

Born on 23 April 1775, J M W Turner is widely considered to be the greatest and most influential British artist of all time. Therefore, it is probably only right that Tate Britain – which houses the world’s largest free display of Turner’s paintings – will be launching an exhibition to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of Turner’s birth.

To coincide with this, the Arts & Humanities Society has been extremely fortunate to secure the services of Dr Richard Hoggett - a freelance heritage consultant, lecturer and writer - who will give a talk focussing on the results of a single tour by J M W Turner and look at how these images fed into his wider watercolour, oil and engraving work.

This lecture examines a series of watercolours Joseph Mallord William Turner made of sites along the East Anglian coast in the 1820s, including views of Orford, Aldeburgh, Dunwich, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and Happisburgh. As well as being beautiful paintings in their own right, these images tell us a great deal about the dynamic coastal landscape and illustrate the changing artistic fashions of the early 19th century.

Join Dr Richard Hoggett on this journey through J M W Turner's watercolours. As it's also the anniversary of John Constable’s birth he will discuss Turner's relationship with Constable.

We have timed this event on the eve of the launch of the Tate’s exhibition which runs from 27 November 2025 to 12 April 2026 and brings together the two rivals of the age; this lecture will be an ideal introduction to this fascinating event.

How to join

This lecture will be hosted on Zoom. Joining instructions will be issued in your confirmation email. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS LECTURE WILL BE RECORDED.

About LRAC, the Arts and Humanities Society

LRAC, the Arts and Humanities Society, is a non profit making club run by a voluntary group of past and present Open University students who arrange study days, lectures, workshops, museum and gallery visits.

We are not a formal part of the Open University but we are affiliated to the Open University Students Union: https://www.oustudents.com/societies-clubs-and-groups

We do not receive any funding from the Open University or other institutions. To help cover our costs we charge a small fee which goes towards the cost of putting on this lecture and future events to support and enrich student learning.