Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) was a central figure in the Romantic movement and is considered to be among the greatest landscape painters in Western art. Long admired for his ingenuity, originality, and passion, Turner strove to convey the feeling of awe aroused by nature’s immensity and power—its palpable atmospheres, pulsating energy, the drama of storms and disasters, and the transcendent effect of pure light.

On view in Quest for the Sublime are seminal oil paintings, luminous watercolors, and evocative sketches selected from Tate’s Turner Bequest. The exhibition conveys highlights of the artist’s career, from vertiginous mountain scenes and stormy seascapes to epic history paintings and mysterious views of Venice.