Hidden Masterpiece Unveiled: $506 Anonymous Painting Revealed as Priceless Lost J.M.W. Turner Treasure
This is a far larger figure than the painting was sold for in just 2024, before it was discovered to be the work of Turner. Then thought to have been the work of an unknown artist, the painting sold at auction for a mere $506.
How J.M.W. Turner’s “The Rising Squall” Fell Into Obscurity Before Being Rediscovered
Sotheby’sThe rediscovered Turner will be on display at Sotheby’s in London from June 28 until July 1, before going to auction.
Though it’s now been authenticated as a work of Turner’s, the story surrounding the painting was much different only a year ago. Julian Gascoigne, a senior director at Sotheby’s, told The Guardian that, last year, the painting was “very dirty, it hadn’t been touched for a long period of time, it had very old discoloured yellow varnish on it.”
But how did the work of a revered master end up falling into anonymity and disrepair in the first place?
After the painting was finished and exhibited in the Royal Academy in 1792, its long and complicated odyssey to Sotheby’s began.
“A series of mistakes were made, which were repeated and compounded,” Gascoigne said. “Over the course of the 20th century, it was forgotten.”
Reverend Robert Nixon first purchased the painting immediately following its initial exhibition. Nixon was one of Turner’s early supporters – as well as a client of Turner’s father, who was a barber.
After Nixon died in 1837, he passed it on to his son, Francis Russell Nixon. That’s when the painting made it to Australia, as the younger Nixon was named Lord Bishop of Tasmania.
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