Chapter 32: Portrait of a Hero
Turner’s self-portrait, c.1798 — compare with figure in rescue boat
Great wooden vessel bears roughest of seas, Tossed by the beckoning deep; While souls near-free from mortal distress, Still fight till their last precious breath.
Might that be JMW’s own self-portrait stabilizing the stern of my Rescue boat? The red waistcoat. The cravat. The frontal pose. Turner was an artist seldom seen without his cravat.
Even Martin Butlin could only nod in agreement when asked if the figure was the artist himself.
This is an excerpt. Read the full chapter in Art World’s Dirty Little Secret.