Jane Austen and JMW Turner are two of Britain’s most significant cultural icons. Although they were born in the same year, they never met. However, they came close, as Austen did visit the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition one year when Turner was in it. The closest they got until now was probably in your wallet with their faces on the £10 and £20 notes. Stately home Harewood House, outside Leeds, has paired the two giants together in the year that would have been their 250th birthdays.
We get to see some of the fantastic paintings Turner completed of the house, along with some of his smaller watercolours and sketches, alongside some first editions by Austen. In a nod to their place in popular culture, the show’s first room includes posters and DVDs of the films based on their works – from serious biopic Mr Turner to comedy horror Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; the latter a ridiculous concept that’s better than it has any right to be.
While there is plenty to see from both the author and the artist in the show, it’s the story this exhibition tells about the overlap of the two with the house and its history. While both Turner and Austen perpetuated narratives around England’s historic houses and had privileged access to them, they likely felt no more at home than the artists who now show in Britain’s stately homes. The continued contemporary interventions in stately homes by artists is a tradition that continues today.
The above neatly ties into the artist and poet showing as part of this exhibition at Harewood. Rommi Smith has written poetic verses about Austen and Turner, providing her unique slant on the house’s history. Through her collaged portraiture, Lela Harris looks into the forgotten figures who made this house what it was.
A key part of the exhibition, tying into Harris’s art, is looking at the house’s colonial past. The Lascelles family, who built Harewood House, gained immense wealth from the sugar and slavery trades. The exhibition doesn’t shy away from this past, and the ties between colonialism and stately homes need to be acknowledged as they are here. Austen and Turner knew of these links, as Austen had two brothers in the navy, and Turner invested in plantations in his early career before condemning the transatlantic slave trade later in life.
This exhibition includes many paintings, drawings, books, objects, and period costumes throughout the house. It’s sure to draw in plenty of fans of both Austen and Turner. While it may seem tenuous to link these two greats, given that they never met, the research-driven curation ensures we learn lots about these two cultural heavyweights, even for those familiar with both artists’ works.
Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter is on at Harewood House until 19th October. Entrance is free for those with a day ticket to the house and gardens, from £22.95 for adults.
All images are courtesy of Harewood House Trust. Photos: Tom Arber
