III. TURNER AND HIS WORKS 131

Sir Thomas Lawrence, of Lady Wallscourt and Lady Robert Manners.

The sky of Turner’s picture was exceedingly bright, and it had a most injurious effect on the colour of the two portraits. Lawrence naturally felt mortified, and complained openly of the position of his pictures. You are aware that artists were at that time permitted to retouch their pictures on the walls of the Academy. On the morning of the opening of the exhibition, at the private view, a friend of Turner’s who had seen the Cologne in all its splendour, let a group of expectant critics up to the picture. He started back from it in consternation. The golden sky had changed to a dun colour. He ran up to Turner, who was in another part of the room. “Turner, what have you been doing to your picture?” “Oh,” muttered Turner, in a low voice, “poor Lawrence was so unhappy. It’s only lamp-black. It’ll all wash off after the exhibition!” He had actually passed a wash of lamp-black in water-colour over the whole sky, and utterly spoiled his picture for the time, and so left it through the exhibition, lest it should hurt Lawrence’s

You may easily find instances of self-sacrifice where men have strong motives, and where large benefits are to be conferred by the effort, or general admiration obtained by it; but of pure, unselfish, and perfect generosity, showing itself in a matter of minor interest, and when few could be aware of the sacrifice made, you will not easily find such another example as this.

Evening.” It is now in the collection of Mr. John Naylor, of Leighton Hall, Shropshire. For another reference to it, see Notes on the Turner Gallery at Marlborough House, (1856), under No. 516 (eds. 1-4). Ruskin heard this anecdote from Turner’s close friend, George Jones, R.A., and recorded it in his diary (May 22, 1843) :-

“Jones told me that Turner on one occasion washed his own picture all over with ivory black, utterly spoiling it, that it might not hurt two of Sir T. Lawrence’s, and suffered it to remain so through the whole exhibition; and that having in play painted a picture of the same size and subject as Jones’s, and it having got a better place, did all in his power to get the pictures changed. It made me very happy to hear this.”

He refers to the anecdote again in Fors Clavigera (Letter 26). Thornbury repeats it in his Life of Turner (p. 274, ed. 1877), where (p. 347) another anecdote about the picture will be found. Reminiscences of Turner on varnishing days are given in Dilecta, § 4.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]