Turner & Constable

by Ed Williams

26th February

Turner & Constable - Rivals for Greatness


British art in the early 19th Century was dominated by two singular visionaries, John Constable and JMW Turner, both men challenged convention, both were notoriously ‘difficult’ and both men were to herald changes in British art which ultimately gave rise to modernism.


Today however their work is often considered ‘establishment art’, conventional and indeed in terms of Constable’s paintings the quintessence of pastoral English bucolic. This myopic view fails to appreciate the truly ground breaking and unconventional approaches that both men adopted, approaches which were often fuelled by a fierce, often bitter rivalry, which saw both men pitted against the academic establishment, critics and each other as they sought to secure the status of preeminent painter of their day.  

Ed Williams

Ed Williams is based in the North West of England, as an Oxford educated Art Historian, who was tutored by Dr Janina Ramirez and Mary Acton, he is passionate about sharing his love of the History of Art to a range of audiences. He works at TATE Liverpool, delivering tours and talks of the collection and special exhibitions.  In addition to his work at TATE Ed teaches the History of Art at the University of Liverpool, where he specialises in teaching adult learners at the Department of Continuing Education. He regularly gives lectures to specialist interest groups and societies as well as U3A and WI groups. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and his work has been published in several journals and online publications.