Limekiln At Coalbrookdale (J. M. W. Turner) Stock Illustration

J.M.W. Turner’s dramatic, roiling seascapes united a Romantic appreciation for nature and architecture with references to literature, mythology, and history. His detailed depictions of bustling seaports, ships in storm-tossed seas, and other atmospheric scenes often bordered on abstraction with their loose, raw brushstrokes and appreciation of movement Turner’s famous Rain, Steam and Speed—The Great Western Railway (1844) turned the velocity of new technology into a colorful blur. His technical mastery helped bring landscape painting a new level of prestige, and his frequent use of watercolor helped establish the medium as a serious art form. Turner was also well known for his book illustrations and topographical drawings. His work belongs in the collections of the Tate, the British Museum, the Yale Center for British Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Frick Collection, and his paintings have fetched tens of millions on the secondary market.