Turner did see
The glory of dawn
Ripples of water
Steam in motion
No Genius he says
Damned hard work he says
Tramp across England
Sketch, watercolour, look
A stop in Paris
Perfection in Claude Lorraine
Plagiarise, Perfect, Mould
Engrave, Illustrate Murrays Books
Prints galore, block the rest
Nice little earner, there
Veritable Venice
Captured, light, water
Reflection and movement
No Canaletto he
Movement and light
Is He
Capture the fashion
Childe Harold in paint
Roman ruins for Soane
Dido at carthage
Played the game
In the right clubs
Had the right friends
Kept the mistress discreet
A life of painting holidays!
Dinner parties!
Secret fun!
He respectable, you see
No genius, you see
Damned hard work?
mm, yes Mr Turner
I see!
I have read this out at a few private galleries and got good feedback from artists who know about turner, he did some illustrations for john murray, and some work that was made into engravings that made him a lot of cash. He travelled a lot, with work, but I like the idea of spending days sketching views.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
this poem has been sent to the turner society for publication by famous Turner expert and chief curator of Tate Britain Ian Warrell