An exhibition dedicated to the work of the English painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), presented on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Also, this event is the first ever display of this artist’s work in Portugal, bringing together a significant collection of his art works.

The organisation of the event was led by the Tate Gallery and the British Council, who also had the collaboration of the British Museum, in coordination between the Fine Arts Department and the Exhibitions and Museography Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG) and these important English institutions.

The main goal of this exhibition, which took place in the months of June and July of 1973 in Portugal, was to promote the work of this English painter, contributing to the systemisation of the study of his work.  As seen in the catalogue preface, Turner’s work, given his constant references to the sea, was adequate to a dialogue of cultural rapprochement between Portugal and England as maritime nations (Turner (1775-1851). Desenhos, Aguarelas e Óleos [Drawings, Watercolours and Oils], 1973).

In the initial proposal for the celebrations of the centenary, the idea of holding an exhibition about the maritime aspects was brought forward by the Fine Arts Department of the British Council; however, the project presented by the Tate Gallery for an exhibition dedicated to Turner’s work ended up being more widely accepted. In addition to covering the maritime universe, it would also promote this artist’s unique work among the Portuguese public.

The collaboration between the FCG and the Tate Gallery goes back to 1964, since the important contemporary art exhibition in London Painting & Sculpture of a decade:  1954-64, organised by the Tate Gallery and funded by the FCG. In 1973, the Tate Gallery, the largest holder of J. M. William Turner’s paintings, valuing the important collection of the founder Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955), promptly accepted the proposal of organising a new exhibition, with the same spirit of partnership. 

The works selected from these two collections were further completed by an important collection of watercolours donated by Turner to the English state, under the responsibility of John Ruskin (1819-1900) and later on transferred to the British Museum, who promptly made them available for the exhibition in Lisbon.

The exhibition included 58 drawings and watercolours, which were determinant in Turner’s artistic practice, on various themes consisting of landscapes, dominated by topographical views, panoramic compositions and maritime and port activities. Most of the works on display at the exhibition were lent temporarily by the British Museum, except for two pieces which belonged to FCG’s collection.

It should be noted that, as a requirement for the loan of Turner’s paintings and oils owned by the British Museum, it was agreed between both institutions that these pieces of art could not be exposed to natural light and the temperature and artificial light limits would have to be closely followed.

The selected artworks included also 24 oil paintings, most of them part of the Tate Gallery collection, including two equally important works which belong to the F.C.G.’s collection: The Wreck of a Transport Ship, c. 1807 (inv. no. 260) and Quillebeuf, at the Mouth of the Seine 1833 (inv. no. 2362). The works presented to the Portuguese public corresponded to 40 years of the painter’s activity, between 1807 and 1846, offering important examples of his artistic maturity.  The watercolours and drawings were organised in four chronological categories following the evolution of Turner’s work, according to the theoretical criteria of the categories dedicated to oil painting.

In addition to the paintings, some personal belongings from Turner’s studio were also on display. The reference regarding the integration of these belongings can be seen on the exhibition project, in a letter sent by the British Council to the FCG, in which the presentation of the palette, paints and a model of a ship are mentioned.  (Letter from the British Council to the Director of the FCG Museum Department, 23 May 1973, Gulbenkian Archives, SEM 00039)

The painter’s excellence and the selection criteria for the artworks allowed the Portuguese public to enjoy a unique experience with works of reference of western art history. In the words of the art historian, Luke Herrmann (1932-2016), in his catalogue entry: “(...) the most perfect accomplishments of Turner’s genius can be found in his timeless creations, such as these” (Turner (1775-1851). Desenhos, Aguarelas e Óleos, 1973).

The exhibition, organised with the high patronage of the Duke of Edinburgh, the prince consort Philip Mountbatten, was attended by the Duke himself in the inauguration ceremony, along with other Portuguese public figures, such as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Education, as well as the FCG President, José de Azeredo Perdigão, the Director of Tate Gallery, Norman Reid, an inauguration ceremony attended by roughly 200 guests.

Associated with the event, several complementary activities were organised, such as conferences on the life and work of Turner, given by Andrew Wilton, Assistant Curator of the Prints and Drawings Department of the British Museum, by Luke Herrmann, Professor of the University of Leicester, Fernando de Mello Moser, Professor of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon and Professor Artur Nobre de Gusmão, Director of the FCG Fine Arts Department.

In addition, several guided tours to the exhibition were carried out by public figures of the Portuguese art scene, such as Mário de Oliveira, Adriano de Gusmão, Manuel Rio-Carvalho, Fernando de Azevedo and Gil Teixeira Lopes.  A film cycle dedicated to this theme was also presented in Auditorium 3 of the FCG, with films lent by the British Council.

In June 1973, a statement from Fernando de Pamplona was also broadcasted on the Portuguese national radio station, regarding this important event within the Portuguese artistic and cultural context, a clear evidence of the exhibition’s impact among the Portuguese public, which was attended by thousands of visitors: “Over the period of a month and a few days, the Turner exhibition was attended by several thousands of visitors” (Diário de Notícias, 14 July 1973).