Nicola Moorby
Review of the Lecture
Nicola is curator of British Art 1790-1850 at Tate Britain, and is widely published on art of this period, including a newly-published and very well received book on Turner and Constable. The Tate has recently staged a knockout exhibition on Turner and Constable, and the two lectures amplified and extended these for TASH members. The first, on Turner's watercolour techniques, was eye-opening. Although earlier artists had used watercolours, they were mainly used for washes on drawings. Turner used watercolours to create landscapes themselves. When he was working, he had to mix many of the paints himself, and his palettes and tools were shown as well as his sketchbooks and finished and preparatory pictures. He was inventing many of his own techniques, which are now commonplace, but were not then. He effectively created the marketplace for watercolour landscapes. It was fascinating to see how he did this, particularly as we was secretive about his methods so it was a matter of detective work to find the techniques out.
- Professor Robert Gurney
J.M.W. Turner was arguably the greatest practitioner in watercolour the world has ever seen and his achievements still represent the benchmark for artists working today.
Yet he left frustratingly few written records of his processes and was notoriously reticent about his methods. One brave soul apparently once asked him the key to being a successful artist and it is recorded that he rather grumpily replied ‘The only secret I have is damned hard work’! This lecture examines Turner’s watercolour practice in detail, unlocking the mysteries behind his exceptional effects.
Nicola Moorby is an art historian and curator, specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Formerly at Tate Britain, she was a major contributor to Tate's online catalogues of the Camden Town Group and the Turner Bequest. An experienced, Arts Society accredited lecturer, she has also appeared as an expert on television and radio including Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr (2020 and 2021), Art on the BBC (2022) and Great Art Journeys with Tai Shan Shirenberg (2023). She has published widely, including as co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010) and her book, Turner and Constable: Art, Life and Landscape, published by Yale University Press in 2025.