Studies at Margate (c.1835-40)
As a way of escaping from London, Turner became a regular visitor to the coastal resort of Margate, on the eastern tip of Kent. He travelled there by steamer, and took up lodgings with a Mrs Booth, who afterwards became both his housekeeper and mistress. From the windows of her house Turner could see the lighthouse on the harbour, a view which he painted frequently during the last twenty years of his life. This section includes some of the large group of works including this subject which became so important to Turner. At Margate he also painted many atmospheric impressions in oil which he then developed in the studio, many including shipwrecks and the churning foam of the surf. None of these were exhibited in Turner's own lifetime; they were discovered for the first time after his death.