Opening New Year’s Day: Once in a lifetime swap for Turner watercolours

Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest comes to Scotland for the first time  

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest 

National Galleries Scotland exhibition in the Royal Scottish Academy building 

1 – 31 January 2025 

Open 12pm – 5pm New Year’s Day, 10am – 5pm from 2 January 2025 

Admission free  

Turner in January | Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest | National Galleries of Scotland 

From New Year’s Day 2025, National Galleries of Scotland is kicking off the 250th birthday of much-loved artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), with a special celebration.

Visitors to the treasured Turner in January exhibition can marvel at a new selection of over 30 watercolours that have never been seen before in Scotland, in an exchange with the National Gallery of Ireland.  

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest, opens at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh at midday on 1 January 2025. The free exhibition includes a watercolour of Edinburgh from 1801 that has never been displayed in the city before. 

This once in a lifetime exhibition is a celebratory take on a keenly awaited and much-loved annual tradition that has been taking place since 1901.

Renowned art collector Henry Vaughan owned over 200 drawings, watercolours and prints by Turner, which he divided in his will between galleries in Edinburgh, Dublin and London. 38 of these watercolours were given to the people of Scotland, on the condition that they are only displayed in the month of January, when light levels are at their lowest. Because of this, these works still possess a freshness and an intensity of colour, almost 200 years since they were created.  

Now, in an exciting exchange, simultaneous exhibitions will see Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest make a special trip to the National Galleries of Scotland, while Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest will go on display at the National Gallery of Ireland. Those familiar with Turner in January are sure to notice how both collections complement each other. Visitors will be able to marvel in sweeping seascapes, dramatic landscapes and spectacular cities.  

The most famous British artist of the 19th Century, Turner’s career spanned over 50 years. He experimented constantly with technique and colour, creating landscapes that still astonish today. In his younger years Turner toured Britain extensively, as war made travel to Europe impossible.

He first travelled abroad in 1802 and from 1819 onwards he undertook sketching tours abroad almost every year, visiting France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. 

The panoramic Edinburgh from below Arthur’s Seat (1801) will be on display in the city it depicts for the first time. A moody view of Auld Reekie captured on Turner’s first visit to Edinburgh in the summer of 1801, dark storm clouds loom over Edinburgh Castle, rain pouring on the horizon as cows drink peacefully in the foreground.  

When Turner first visited the Alps in 1802, the trip transformed his understanding of landscape, which was reflected in his boundary-pushing depiction of the mountains, rocks and glaciers.

In The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, Switzerland (1802), Turner emphasises the sublime drama and majestic height of the 200-hundred-foot waterfall by including a tiny, ant-like figure on a rocky outcrop to indicate scale.

Both the Scottish and Irish Vaughan Bequests include expressive watercolours painted on Turner’s visit to the Aosta valley in the Alps in 1836, where the artist uses a great variety of watercolour techniques – scratching out, sponging out and working freely in wet watercolour – to depict his beloved mountains. 

Venice, city of light and water, held a special fascination for Turner. His third and final visit was in August 1840, when the stormy summer weather inspired a series of tempestuous watercolours recording dramatic atmospheric effects around the city. Storm at the Mouth of the Grand Canal (1840) comes to Edinburgh from Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest.

Also on exhibition will be The Doge’s Palace and Piazzetta, Venice (1840), a golden evening view of gondolas and fishing boats clustered against the backdrop of Venice’s most celebrated buildings. 

Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest includes outstanding examples of watercolours created to be engraved and published as a print series. A highlight of the exhibition will be A Ship against the Mewstone, at the Entrance to Plymouth Sound (c.1814), from Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England.

A Royal Navy ship is shown labouring in heavy swell at a notorious danger point on the Devon coast. In this series, Turner aimed to record the landscape and working lives of places and people living along the south coast. In Clovelly Bay, North Devon (c.1822), another jewel-like watercolour from the same series, he shows in great detail the work of quarrying limestone.

Also on show will be A Shipwreck off Hastings (c.1825), which was probably produced for Turner’s Ports of England print series. 

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest truly is a first for Scotland, with most displayed in their original frames and even Henry Vaughan’s original display cabinet.  

Charlotte Topsfield, exhibition curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Exchanging Vaughan Bequest Turners is an idea that Edinburgh and Dublin have been discussing for a long time.

“We are so excited to be working together on this historic swap in Turner’s anniversary year.

“It will be such a marvelous celebration for the people of Scotland to enjoy – a real once in a lifetime opportunity to commemorate a very special painter.” 

Anne Hodge, exhibition curator at the National Gallery of Ireland said: “I am delighted that in January 2025 visitors to the National Galleries Scotland will be able to see Turner’s wonderfully expressive vision of a rainy Edinburgh along with all 31 watercolours that Henry Vaughan decided to leave to Dublin.

“It is a great privilege for me to have worked so closely with colleagues in Edinburgh to make this project a reality.” 

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest opens at the Royal Scottish Academy building at 12pm on 1 January and is free to visit. 

This exhibition has been created in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland. It is supported thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Sir Ewan and Lady Christine Brown. 

National Galleries of  Scotland prepares to welcome in the new year with beloved annual tradition Turner in January

Turner in January  

1 January 2024 – 31 January 2024  

A National Galleries of Scotland exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy  

Admission free  

Turner in January | National Galleries of Scotland 

Opening New Year’s Day 2024, the National Galleries of Scotland celebrates the return of their keenly awaited annual display, Turner in January.  

Taking pride of place in one of the upper galleries of Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy, Joseph Mallord William Turner’s watercolours from the Scottish national collection will be exhibited throughout the month of January, free for the public to enjoy. Turner in January is a beloved tradition for many people in Scotland. It signals the dawning of the New Year, and as we leave behind the darkest days of winter, the bright vitality of Turner’s work is exactly what we need.   

Scotland’s famous collection of Turner watercolours was left to the nation by the great art collector Henry Vaughan in 1900. Since then, following Vaughan’s strict guidelines, they have only ever been displayed during the month of January, when natural light levels are at their lowest. Because of this, these watercolours still possess a freshness and an intensity of colour, almost 200 years since they were originally created.   

With almost 40 watercolours on display, including dramatic landscapes from the Himalayas, the Swiss Alps, and the Isle of Skye, visitors will journey through Britain, Europe and beyond, leaving behind January blues in favor of Turner’s idyllic views of the world.

Turner in January will also include a Smartify audio highlights guide, a brand-new addition to the exhibition for 2024. Freely available on their devices, visitors can immerse themselves further into Turner’s work through this highlighted guided tour of the exhibition, giving fresh insights and expanding on what is presented on the gallery walls.  

This mesmerising exhibition captures the essence of the life and career of the 19th century London-born artist, with the works on display covering the breadth of Turner’s artistic talents. In a career spanning 50 years, Turner developed new ways of painting in watercolour and revolutionised ideas of what could be achieved in the medium.

Through a combination of exceptional talent and incredible hard work, he was able to capture in paint the sublime beauty of the natural world. Turner experimented with an array of techniques and colour, creating works which continue to captivate and excite audiences today. 

Charlotte Topsfield, Senior Curator of British Drawings and Prints at National Galleries of Scotland said: Henry Vaughan personally selected the watercolours in the bequest to share the full range and richness of Turner’s work with the widest audience.

“From early landscape drawings to glorious colour studies, delicate literary illustrations and visionary late watercolours, Vaughan’s Turners wonderfully demonstrate the artist’s infinite creativity and technical skill.

“Putting the Turner watercolours on show is a highlight of my year and I hope that it brings everyone else as much pleasure!”

Isabella Miller, Director of Audience at the National Galleries of Scotland said: “Turner in January brings with it an uplifting start to a new year at the National Galleries of Scotland.

“It’s with great joy we witness the excitement from our returning visitors, along with the wonder this display brings to those discovering it for the very first time. Turner in January honors the legacy of Henry Vaughan’s bequest, while creating a now treasured tradition for many.

“It’s also a wonderful opportunity to marvel in the skill of our conservation and curatorial teams, who ensure the year-round care of these beloved watercolours, allowing them to be displayed and enjoyed each January.”

Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: The yearly celebration of Turner’s watercolors invites us to enjoy vibrant colours, showcasing the beauty of our natural world.

“From the Swiss Alps to the Isle of Skye, the exhibition offers an uplifting escape from any January blues. I’m delighted that support from Postcode Lottery players, who have now raised over £5 million for National Galleries of Scotland, is making art and exhibitions like this free and accessible for all.”

Turner in January is open to the public from 12pm on Monday 1 January.