From November 27, 2025 to April 12, 2026, Tate Britain The first major exhibition exploring the intertwined lives and legacies of Britain’s most revered landscape artists: JMW Turner (1775–1851) and John Constable (1776–1837)
Source: Tate Britain · Image: JMW Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834, 1835. Cleveland Museum of Art. Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.647; John Constable, The White Horse, 1819. Frick Collection, New York.
Distinctly different painters and figures, each challenged the artistic conventions of their time and developed ways of depicting the world that still resonate today. Held on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of their births, this exhibition will simultaneously trace the development of their careers, revealing the ways in which they were praised, criticized and competed with each other, and how this pushed them to produce new and original artistic visions. It will feature more than 170 paintings and works on paper by Turner from 1835 Burn down the House of Lords and the House of Commons, On loan from the Cleveland Museum of Art, not seen in the UK for over a century white horse 1819 is one of Constable’s greatest artistic achievements and was last exhibited in London twenty years ago.
Turner was born in the crowded metropolis of London, while Constable was born into a wealthy family in the Suffolk village of East Bergholt, their early lives just one year apart, the exhibition will open. A fast-rising young star with business acumen, Turner first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1790 at the age of 15 and produced ambitious paintings such as the recently discovered Squall rising from a hot well in Bristol’s St Vincent Rockbefore he turns 18. In contrast, Constable was largely self-taught, embarking on sketching travels and producing early watercolors such as cumberland bow mountain In 1807, they showed a strong commitment to perfecting their artistic techniques, exhibiting at the Royal Academy until 1802. Both came to prominence against the backdrop of the popularity of landscape art, but the two were united by a desire to make landscapes better.
The exhibition will explore how both artists developed unique artistic identities within the competitive world of landscape art, focusing on their methods, evolutions and overlaps. Constable built his reputation on the Suffolk landscapes of his childhood, choosing to paint oil sketches in the broad vistas of the Dedham Valley and the River Stour, which appear frequently in his work. Tate Britain will display his painting box and sketching chair, allowing visitors to learn about the development of Constable’s masterful painting techniques and radical manipulation of paint to add ‘brilliance’. A collection of Constable’s cloud research will be brought together in the exhibition. They reflected his belief that the sky was key to a painting’s emotional impact, and they now become one of the most famous aspects of his work, supporting the artist’s powerful skyscapes on his massive six-foot canvases. Later works such as Hampstead Heath and Rainbow 1836 will demonstrate his masterful interweaving of personal and historical memory.
