An history of Richmondshire

Abstract

"An History of Richmondshire (1819–23) is the only part to be published of the largest commission ever received by Turner. Originally intended to count 120 drawings for a General History of the County of York by the well-known historian Thomas Dunham Whitaker, it was cut short owing to the death of the author and the spiralling costs. Nevertheless, Turner produced some of his finest work for the project, and 
 the finished engravings demonstrate how his topographical art took landscape painting and illustration to new heights, and guaranteed his popular fame. All twenty prints are reproduced here, at approximately three-quarters of the size of the originals. This is the first time they have been published together since the nineteenth century. Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in 1775 in London. He achieved success and fame early, both as a painter and as the pre-eminent illustrator of his time. Independent-minded to the point of eccentricity, he lived reclusively but travelled widely in France, Italy and Germany until his last years. Turner died in 1851 and was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. He left all the paintings and drawings in his studio to the nation, but the stipulations in his will were never fully honoured."-- Publisher's website.