Turner's Oxford

From his childhood visits to his uncle at Sunningwell, Turner was fascinated by Oxford: no other place in England so consistently engaged his attention over so long a period, from the beginning of his career until the late 1830s. Indeed, his first documented drawing, made at the age of 12, was a copy of one of Rooker's designs for the "Oxford Almanack", and it was followed by a substantial group of early drawings and sketches remarkable for the astonishingly rapid technical progress they display. His most important early commission was for 10 watercolours to be engraved as headpieces for the Oxford Almanack, the first of which was published in 1799. This book brings together all his views of the city and discusses the circumstances surrounding the genesis of these works. They include watercolours by the teenage artist, watercolours commissioned for the "Oxford Almanack" together with preparatory works and finished watercolours for several projects in the 1820s and 1830s, when Turner was at the height of his powers.