Turner's House in Twickenham — Julian Calverley

Everywhere you turn these days there is reference to AI.

It seems you can’t seem to do anything an a computer without being given the option for AI to help, improve or completely re write things for you, and let’s not even go there when it comes to AI created imagery!

As a reaction against AI, I realise I am being strongly drawn to more creative pursuits. Things crafted and created by hand, by us humans. Analogue instead of digital, music on vinyl, drawing with a dip pen and hand made inks, writing with a fountain pen. And painting.

Before photography I painted. As a child I used to draw. It feels like I am going full circle, and it feels good.

As a result I have been watching more and more films and documentaries about artists, sculpters and writers, and recently, rather late to the party, I had the pleasure of watching the film Mr Turner, directed by Mike Leigh and starring the excellent Timothy Spall. A film about J.M.W. Turner and the last 25 years of his life.

Beautifully shot, cast and directed, with wonderfully chosen locations and costume, it had me completely absorbed in another world, for all 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Watching the film took me right back to a commission for the Turner’s House Trust…

The main room of Turner's house, in Twickenham.

““I wanted to approach the work in a simple and honest way, and so decided to work purely with natural light, with the single aim of capturing the atmosphere of the house...””

Back in the autumn of 2015 I was contacted by one of the trustees, who had read in an article that I was a great admirer of J.M.W. Turner’s work.

He asked me if I was aware of the restoration project of Turner’s House in Twickenham, and would I like to contribute in some way. I immediately thought I could help in my capacity as a photographer, and so a plan was hatched, and in March of that year, just days before the restoration work was due to commence, the Trust kindly granted me the honour of two days access to the house.

I wanted to approach the work in a simple and honest way, and so decided to work purely with natural light, with the single aim of capturing the atmosphere of the house. Turner’s work, for me, is all about drama and the play of light and colour, and I’ve aimed to capture the spirit of that in these photographs. All the work was shot using available light, on the ALPA 12 MAX / PhaseOne IQ180 combo, with ALPA HR Alpagon 32mm SB17 lens.

“Sandycombe Lodge was built by 1813 to the designs of England’s great landscape painter, J.M.W. Turner, working here as his own architect to create a quiet retreat for himself, away from the pressures of the London art world. It also provided a home for his father, old William, in retirement from his trade as a barber and wigmaker in Covent Garden, and with old William’s declining health and changes in his own life, Turner sold the house in 1826

Turner’s House Trust has restored Sandycombe Lodge and made it available for all, as a living reminder of J.M.W. Turner’s life in Twickenham and its influence on his art; 2013 marked the bicentenary of this building, a three-dimensional work by an artist renowned in his time and celebrated internationally today.

The house has had unsympathetic additions and is in a run-down condition. Turner’s House Trust intends to restore it to its original appearance and make it a monument to Turner in Twickenham. Once restored, the house will open to the public and allow visitors to explore a small but beautiful building, with fascinating stories to tell”

For more information on the history and restoration of Sandycombe Lodge, and the Turner’s House Trust, go here. You can also find information, on Butler & Hegarty’s web site, the project’s architects, here.

Below is a small selection of the work that I made over the two days that I spent in the house. More of the work, including larger versions, can be found here.

Images shown courtesy of Turner’s House Trust.

Technical Information

Camera / Lens - ALPA 12 MAX with ALPA HR Alpagon 5.6/32mm SB17 with ALPA tilt/swing adapter 0° - 5°, 17 mm.

Filtration - None.

MFDB - PhaseOne IQ1 80. ISO 32.

To round things off, I want to show you one of my favourite paintings of Turner’s.

It is titled Snow Storm, Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth which he painted in 1842. It can be viewed today at Tate Britain.

It comes with a rather wonderful story, which is referenced in the film… “An inscription on the painting relates that The Author was in this Storm on the Night the "Ariel" left Harwich”

Turner later recounted a story about the background of the painting: “I did not paint it to be understood, but I wished to show what such a scene was like; I got the sailors to lash me to the mast to observe it; I was lashed for four hours, and I did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it if I did”

John Ruskin commented in 1843 that it was "one of the very grandest statements of sea-motion, mist and light, that has ever been put on canvas"

Turner was a ground breaking painter, who did what he wanted, despite his work being often critised. He was also a successful commercial artist and made money from his work while still alive, unlike many other greats.

A truly inspiring man.