2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), one of Britain’s greatest and most influential landscape painters. Known for his dramatic skies and luminous watercolours, Turner transformed how we see nature.
Turner was captivated by the Scottish Borders and painted several scenes along the River Tweed, capturing its serene beauty and historic landmarks. His works from the region include evocative views of Norham Castle, perched above the Tweed, bathed in morning light—a subject he first sketched in 1797 and returned to multiple times throughout his career.
His depictions of the Tweed remind us of the timeless beauty of our landscapes and the power of art to preserve them.
Across the UK and beyond, museums and galleries hosted exhibitions, talks, and events to honour Turner’s legacy.
A full catalogue of 37,500 sketches and watercolors is available online via Tate (https://www.tate.org.uk/).
Locally, the Connecting Threads team, part of Destination Tweed, partnered with Norham Arts to offer a creative workshop on the banks of the River Tweed. In tribute to the fluid, luminous quality of Turner’s work, artist Rachel Sutherland demonstrated some of the innovative painting techniques and unusual materials that Turner employed to evoke the dynamism of water as it eddies and pools. Taking place right on the riverbank, showed us how our paint could be mixed with water from the closest source: the River Tweed itself.
