Welcome to our December newsletter

Despite the challenging year experienced by all museums and heritage sites, Turner’s House has enjoyed some notable successes in 2020. Our first exhibition of original Turner works of art, Turner’s and the Thames: Five Printings, opened by Sir David Attenborough, sold out within three weeks. We were grateful to Tate Britain for granting an extension of the show until the end of October. 2020 also saw Turner’s self-portrait appearing on the new £20 and a special preview at Turner’s House with the Bank of England’s chief cashier Sarah John and banknote designer Debbie Marriott. In March the house was unfortunately forced to close due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but with grants obtained from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and from the Government the house was able to reopen safely to the public in July.

We look forward to another exhibition of original Turner paintings in 2021, this time watercolours and engravings on a different theme. Details of this exciting show in our January newsletter!

 

The Big Give Christmas Challenge – Thank You!

 

Thanks to our supporters, pledgers, and the Monday Charitable Trust, we exceeded our target in the Big Give Christmas Challenge earlier this month, securing over £8,000 in total for our Wellbeing in Turner’s House programme. We are delighted to be able to continue our work with Richmond Mind and Age UK in 2021, providing art and gardening workshops to some of the most isolated in our community. Thank you to everyone who supported us!
 

New Film on JMW Turner and Turner’s House for you

Franny Moyle, a Trustee at Turner’s House Trust, and author of the biography The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner, has narrated this short film on the early life of Turner and Sandycombe Lodge. It will be joined by other short videos on Turner’s House which will be available to view shortly. View here for free as our Christmas gift to you:
https://youtu.be/MgCVzCmI1U8   We hope you enjoy it.

 

The Thames Luminaries Talk Series

 

Drawing on the success of our Twickenham Luminaries lecture series in September, Turner’s House will be joining 8 other local heritage organisations, in a series of nine free virtual talks over three weeks beginning on Wednesday 27th January. Acknowledged experts will explore, explain and offer insight about a luminary and their landscape, property and land. There will be talks about the occupants and aspects of the gardens and landscapes of Ham House, Boston Manor, Orleans House, Popes Grotto, Chiswick House, Marble Hill, Hogarth’s House, Strawberry Hill, and Turner’s House.
Although the talks are free, viewers are encouraged to make a £5 donation per talk. A special ticket is available where £25 will gain you access for all 9 talks and the donations will be split equally between all 9 participating properties.
More information and booking information can be found on the Luminaries page.

 

 

Turner’s House Opening Times 2021

With the recent government announcement regarding London and its placement in tier 4 of COVID-19 restrictions, Turner’s House will not reopen to the public until at least February 2021. As further government guidelines are updated, we will release more specific information regarding opening days and times.

Turner’s House Trust is once again indebted to our fantastic volunteer team for all the help and support received this year. Without the help of our volunteers the house would not be able to open to the public. Thank you all!

 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!,

Turner’s House Trust

December 15, 2020