Artistic Training
As a boy of ten, Turner hand-coloured prints by other artists. These, along with his own drawings were displayed for sale in his father's barbershop. Around 1789, Turner was employed by a London topographer. Here he learned the rules of perspective and how to render accurately the city streets and buildings. By the age of fifteen, he had entered London's prestigious Royal Academy Schools, where students learned by drawing from plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculpture. Turner became an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1799 and was elected a full academician in 1802. The Royal Academy remained a focal point for Turner throughout his career.

In addition to the training he received at the Royal Academy, the young Turner benefited from his studies at the home of Dr. Thomas Monro (1759-1833), a medical doctor and amateur watercolourist who attended Turner's mother during her mental illness. From 1794 until 1797 Turner worked at Monro's house in collaboration with fellow artist Thomas Girtin (1775-1802), producing copies of compositions by other artists in the doctor's considerable collection. Girtin drew in the outlines and Turner washed in the effects. The view shown here, A Boat on the Shore near Shakespeare's Cliff, Dover, provides an example of their work together. Unlike the vivid colours of the later watercolours, these works use a limited range of colour.