“Home Port: Dieppe and Cologne in The Frick Collection,” by Susan Grace Galassi, The Frick Collection

The grand-scale port scenes of Dieppe and Cologne that J. M. W. Turner painted in the mid-1820s are generally recognized as a turning point in his career. Combining on-site observation with inspiration from past masters and literary sources, Turner shocked the public and critics alike with the canvases’ brilliant golden light when he exhibited them at the Royal Academy in 1825 and 1826, respectively. This lecture explores how these two masterworks offer a clear statement of the direction Turner was taking landscape painting as the most original artist of his time.