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Turner: In Light and Shade

7 February – 2 November 2025

Turner
In Light and Shade

Marking the 250th anniversary of his birth, this exhibition will explore the work and technique of legendary British landscape artist J.M.W Turner.

J.M.W Turner (1775–1851) remains one of Britain’s most renowned landscape painters whose work continues to inspire generations of artists. This exhibition explores his most remarkable but overlooked series of landscape prints, the Liber Studiorum. Translating as ‘Book of Studies’ and published in fourteen parts from 1807–19, Turner created the series at the height of his fame.

The exhibition will pair Turner’s evocative Liber prints with a series of Turner’s watercolours from the Whitworth’s collection, as well as loaned works from public and private collections. Visitors are invited to explore Turner's artistic legacy and the significance of his prints.

Last presented at the Whitworth over 100 years ago and marking 250 years since his birth, this exhibition presents all seventy-one of Turner’s published prints. Offering a fresh perspective on Turner. Together they show how the artist’s use of colour and atmospheric effects in painting were reimagined in print using line, tone and negative space.

This exhibition is supported by the Manchester Accommodation BID.

The Manchester Accommodation BID has provided crucial support for the J.M.W Turner: In Light and Shade exhibition at the Whitworth in ManchesterThe Accommodation BID receives and manages funds derived from the £1 charge levied on guests visiting Manchester overnight, using the funds to promote and amplify events and activities that bring more people to visit and stay.

7 February – 2 November 2025


Press reviews

★★★★★ "Combining prints culled from Turner’s studio and watercolours from the Whitworth’s own collection, this show celebrates 250 years of our greatest artist."  Jonathan Jones, The Guardian. Read the review

★★★★ "Turner: In Light and Shade: Luminous proof that printing is a genuine art form
Look at Turner’s mezzotints, and it can be hard to believe they’re just dots of ink in the grooves of a copper plate." Telegraph. Find out more

★★★★ "Turner: In Light and Shade review — a gorgeous display of astonishing scenes." The Times. Find out more


Image: Joseph Mallord William Turner, Castle Upnor, Kent, (detail) c.1831–32. J.M.W Turner © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester.