A Country Blacksmith Disputing Upon The Price Of Iron, And The Price Charged To The Butcher For Shoeing His Poney-JMW Turner Editorial Photo

At the 1807 Royal Academy exhibition this painting hung next to one by celebrated newcomer, David Wilkie. Turner wanted to prove he could paint scenes of everyday life just as brilliantly as Wilkie. Opinion was divided, but one observer said Wilkie's painting was 'flung into eclipse' by Turner's and that Turner's work 'killed' others nearby. Its subject, an argument over a blacksmith's prices, reflects the Napoleonic Wars' impact on life in Britain. Such trades had to increase prices after 1806, when the government introduced a pig iron tax to pay war debts.