Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
48 x 72 in. (canvas) 56 x 80 x 2-1/4 in. (framed)
Accession Number
Credit Line
Gift in memory of Evan F. Lilly
Copyright
Collection
European Painting and Sculpture 1800-1945
Color Palette
Provenance
Purchased from the artist in April 1800 by William Beckford [1759-1844] of Fonthill; Fonthill Sale, held at Fonthill Splendens, Wiltshire, England, 24 August 1807, no. 581; Bought by Henry Jeffrey.{1} Thomas Tudor [1785-1855], Wyesham near Monmouth;{2} Thomas Griffith, London, England, Turner's agent, in 1847.{3} George Young, by 1853; Sale at (Christie's, London) in 1866;{4} purchased by Earl Grosvenor in 1866 and until at least 1871.{5} Sir J.C. [John Charles] Robinson [1824-1913], London;{6} bought from him by Sir Francis Cook [1817-1901], Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Surrey, England in 1876;{7} by descent within the Cook family until 1951 when purchased by (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London); Sir Alexander Korda [1893-1956], London, in 1951;{8} sold to (John Mitchell, London) in 1955;{9} purchased for the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, through Kurt Pantzer with funds from the Lilly family in 1955 (55.24). ------- {1} This early provenance appears in Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The paintings of J.M. W. Turner, New Haven, 1977, volume I, catalogue no. 13 (illustrated). Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent owners listed below also appear in Butlin and Joll. On the Fonthill Sale and Jeffrey's purchases, see Robert J. Gemmett, The old palace of tertian fevers:The Fonthill Sale of 1807, Journal of the History of Collections, 2010, pp. 1-12. {2} See Martin F. Krause, Turner in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, 1997, no. 26, p. 98. Tudor's ownership was first noted by Margery Probyn, "A Letter to the Editor," Turner Society News, no. 74 (December 1996), p. 13. {3} Ibid. Probyn had access to Tudor's diary where the sale to Griffith is recorded. {4} Christie's, London, Modern pictures, 19 May 1866, lot 26. {5} See the article Modern Pictures, The Times (London), 21 May 1866 which identifies the purchaser as Earl Grosvenor. {6} See Robinson obituary in The Times (London), 11 April 1913. He is often characterized as an advisor to Cook in building his collection. {7} On the Cook family collection, see Elon Danziger, The Cook collection, its founder and its inheritors, The Burlington Magazine, July 2004, pp. 444-458. See also the "Concordance of Cook collection paintings" available at http://burlington.org.uk/media/files/cook_concordance.pdf (8/30/11). {8} See Kordas statement on Bill of Sale, in IMA Historical Files (55.24). Perhaps Agnew's only served as an intermediary. {9} See Bill of Sale, in IMA Historical Files (55.24). Mitchell may have served only as an agent.
Gallery Labels
This dark, tempestuous painting marks the rise of Turner as a full-fledged Romantic painter. Relying on vast scale, dynamic movement, and dramatic subject, his composition appeals primarily to the emotions to communicate its message.
Turner’s motive for painting this canvas, which was his first major work exhibited at the Royal Academy, may have been a desire to impress British critics and viewers with his ability to handle serious themes. However, it does appear that the young painter mistitled his picture, as this canvas actually depicts the seventh plague of Egypt, when Moses stretched his arms toward heaven and thunder, hail, and fire rained on the pharaoh and his people.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Chengdu Museum
September 28, 2020 - January 4, 2021
Rembrandt to Monet: 500 Years of European Painting from the Clowes Collection and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Chengdu Museum
September 29, 2020 - January 4, 2021
Rembrandt to Monet: 500 Years of European Painting from the Clowes Collection and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Hunan Provincial Museum
May 29, 2020 - September 13, 2020
Hunan Provincial Museum
May 29, 2020 - September 13, 2020
Rembrandt to Monet: 500 Years of European Painting from the Clowes Collection and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields
Guandong Museum
January 10, 2020 - May 17, 2020
Guandong Museum
January 10, 2020 - May 17, 2020
Danger and Beauty. William Turner and the tradition of the Sublime
Rijksmuseum Twenthe
September 5, 2015 - January 3, 2016
2010 Superbowl Losers
New Orleans Museum of Art
March 22, 2010 - June 22, 2010
J.M.W. Turner
National Gallery of Art
October 2, 2007 - January 6, 2008
The Landscape of the Bible
Shipping Officer Henk v. Doornik
September 5, 2000 - January 2, 2001
Cosmos: From Romanticism to the Avant-Garde
Montréal Museum of Fine Arts
June 17, 1999 - October 17, 1999
J.M.W. Turner and the Romantic Vision of the Holy Land and the Bible
September 1, 1996 - December 15, 1996
Indianapolis Museum of Art
June 26, 1993 - August 29, 1993
The Art Of Seeing: John Ruskin and the Victorian Eye
Phoenix Art Museum
March 6, 1993 - May 23, 1993
J.M.W. Turner Retrospective
Musée du Louvre
October 14, 1983 - January 16, 1984
Turner Bi-Centenary Exhibition
The Royal Academy of Arts London
November 16, 1974 - March 2, 1975
From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artisits
Baltimore Museum of Art
October 22, 1968 - December 8, 1968
The Works of J.M.W. Turner
The Museum of Modern Art
March 21, 1966 - June 19, 1966
Masterpieces of Art
April 21, 1962 - September 4, 1962
Landscape in Art
February 5, 1962 - February 25, 1962
Treasures in America
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
January 13, 1961 - March 5, 1961
The First Hundred Years of the Royal Academy, Burlington House, 1769-1868
The Royal Academy of Arts London
1951 - 1952
Winter Exhibition, 1950-1951
The Royal Academy of Arts London
1950 - 1951
Loan
1948 - 1951
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters
The Royal Academy of Arts London
1903 - 1903
Old Masters Exhibition of Works by J.M. Turner, R.A., and a Selection of Examples by Some of His Cotemporaries
1899 - 1899
Exhibition of Works by Old Masters
1871 - 1871
International Exhibition: Fine Arts Department
The Royal Academy of Arts London
1862 - 1862
Exhibition of the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts London
1800 - 1800
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