2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, widely celebrated as Britain’s greatest landscape painter.
Yet, beyond the familiar image of the “painter of light”, Turner was a complex figure whose radical art often baffled his contemporaries.
Tom Gatti meets the New Statesman’s art critic, Michael Prodger, to explore why Turner still matters – and how themes in his work like the power of nature, the impact of technology, and national identity resonate profoundly today.
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