J.M.W Turner and John Constable are GIANTS of British art. And they'll share a joint exhibition at Tate Britain in 2025.
The show — so far titled simply Turner & Constable — will bring these iconic painters together to mark the 250th anniversary of both of their births. It's likely to be one of the most hotly anticipated London exhibitions of the year.
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Famously, the two men were major artistic rivals. Both born in within a year of each other — Turner in 1775, Constable in 1776 — they vied for success through hugely different but equally bold approaches to landscape painting. Tate promises that visitors will be able to "compare their spectacular works and see how their rivalry changed the course of British art."
Both artists used landscape art as a way to reflect the changing world around them.
Turner was born in Georgian London to very humble beginnings. He showed an early talent for drawing, and he exhibited his first watercolour at the Royal Academy of Art in London when he was just 15. He supported himself by selling his artworks, making sketches for architects, and producing watercolour copies of other artists' works.
During his early career, Turner travelled extensively around Britain, capturing landscapes and seascapes in his sketches and paintings. His work began to attract attention for its dramatic use of light and colour, which set him apart from his contemporaries. By his mid-twenties, Turner was recognised as a rising star in the art world, and he became a full academician of the Royal Academy at the age of 27.
Constable meanwhile was the son of a wealthy Suffolk merchant, and was equally determined to forge his own path as an artist but faced a more arduous rise to acclaim.
He had a comfortable childhood, but was expected to take over the family business. His artistic talent developed more slowly and his early career was a struggle. He faced financial difficulties and did not achieve immediate success. His style was quite different from the popular trends of the time, which favoured more dramatic and idealised landscapes.
Instead, Constable focused on capturing the natural beauty and rural life of the English countryside with great attention to detail and a keen observation of the effects of light and weather. He eventually began to receive recognition in the 1810s.
Though from different worlds they shared a profound connection to nature, and both set their sights on transforming landscape painting, investing it with layers of meaning and emotion.
With the two painters vying for success through very different but equally bold approaches the scene was soon set for a heady rivalry. Turner painted blazing sunsets and sublime scenes from his travels, while Constable often returned to depictions of a handful of beloved places, striving for freshness and authenticity in his portrayal of nature. The art critics compared their paintings to a clash of ‘fire and water’.
Visitors are promised a tour-de-force journey through Turner and Constable's intertwined lives and legacies. Everyone will be able to discover unexpected sides to both artists alongside intimate insights seen through sketchbooks and personal items.
Exactly which paintings will be seen is being kept under wraps. But we do know that Turner’s powerful and dynamic later paintings will be shown, which shocked the art critics of his day. And Constable's expressive cloud sketches capturing the changing light of an English sky will also feature.
And Tate's website is showing an image of John Constable's The White Horse from 1819 and in New York's Frick Collection so we can expect that to be a major loan.
Ticket details are yet to be released and will probably happen next year.
But even with these first early details, we already we know this will be a show landmark show exploring the careers of two incredible landscape painters side by side, just as they were in their own time.
Turner and Constable runs at Tate Britain in London from 27 November 2025 to 12 April 2026