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Vaughanwas probably inspired tobequeath his Turners to public collections by the great critic JohnRuskin (1809- 1899), who haddonatedworks by the artist tomuseums. Anumber ofmuseums andgalleries acrossBritain and Irelandwerebeneficiaries of Vaughan’s generosity, including theNational Galleries of Scotland. LikeRuskin, Vaughan was aware of the importance of conservingwatercolours, which easily fade if over-exposed to light. He stipulated that measures shouldbe taken topreserve his bequest in its fresh andbrilliant condition. In hiswill he stipulated that the watercolours be ‘exhibited to thepublic all at one time free of chargeduring themonthof January’. At all other times theywere tobe kept in a special cabinet in thePrint Room. He specified January as it is one of thedarkestmonths therefore the natural light levels are veryweak and less likely to causedamage. Hiswishes havebeen respected, and for over a century the annual display of theVaughanTurners has become amuch-lovedEdinburgh tradition. JosephMallordWilliamTurner was born inCovent Garden, London in 1775, the sonof abarber andwigmaker, andproved himself as an accomplished topographical draughtsman at an early age. He first exhibited at theRoyal Academy in 1790, andwent on tobecomeperhaps themost prolific and innovative of all British artists. From the 1790s onwards he undertook sketching tours inEngland,Wales andScotland, gatheringmaterial for watercolours andoil paintings, anddiscovering the attractions of awe-inspiring mountainous landscapes, whichbecame amajor pre- occupation in hiswork. Hemade his first journey toEurope in 1802, and from 1817, after the endof theNapoleonic wars,made annual visits across theChannel formuchof the rest of his life. Hewas perhaps themost prolific and innovative of all British artists to take inspiration from the landscape. He was abrilliant watercolourist and exceled at oil painting, and he alsomade a number of workswhichwere intended tobe reproduced as prints. Turner’s output was prolific. He was drawn asmuch to scenes ofmodern life, for example hepainted steamboats and feats ofmodern engineering, as hewas to thework of theOldMasterswho excelled at landscape, particularlyNicolasPoussin andClaude Lorraine. Turner’s approach to the renderingof landscapewas fresh anoriginal. He repeatedly sought out scenes of awesome topography such as vast and imposingmountain ranges, and his approach to theweather was similarly dramatic. Hewas drawn to examples of striking andoften extreme natural feats: storms, tumultuous seas, lightening, rainbows, and thebreakingdawn all featureprominently in hiswork. His subjectmatter was not limited to landscape, but also incorporated contemporary, historical, literary, religious and mythological themes. Early in his career Turner had recognised thebenefit of workingwithprintmakers, creatingwatercolours that couldbe engraved, and so spreading and enhancing his reputation. In 1818Turner was invited to contribute illustrations toSirWalter Scott’s newpublishing venture, the ‘Provincial Antiquities andPicturesqueScenery of Scotland’. Thiswas planned as a twelve-part serial, containinghigh quality engravings of sites of historical andpicturesque interest, accompaniedby descriptionswrittenbyScott. This collaboration sawScotland’s greatest romanticwriter working together withEngland’s greatest romantic artist. Turner travelled toScotland in the autumnof 1818 tomake sketches for the commission. Heproduced tenwatercolours tobe engraved for theproject, including Edinburgh from CaltonHill and Heriot’sHospital, Edinburgh . Turner’s Edinburgh views show a lively interest in the contemporary life of the city, aswell as depicting some of itsmost famous buildings and vistas. The Provincial Antiquities was published in tenparts between 1819 and 1826, but it was not a commercial success and the serieswas eventually cut short. Turner’s associationwithScott continued andhe was later employed to illustrate editions of Scott’s poetical andproseworks. He visitedScott at his country house, Abbotsford, in1831. Several of Turner’s illustrations for Scott’sworks are among thewatercolours in theVaughan bequest. Turner exploited every possibility of thewatercolourmedium to create stunning land- and seascapes. The exquisiteworks in theVaughanbequest range from earlywashdrawings of the 1790s, to the colourful, atmospheric andwonderfully expressive lateworks executedon visits to theSwissAlps during the 1830s and 1840s. Other highlights included a series of spectacular views of VenicemadeduringTurner’s third and final stay in the city in 1840whichdemonstrate the artist’s consummatemastery of atmospheric lighting effects. The artist’s life-long fascinationwith thedrama of nature is also evident inworks such as LochCoruisk, Skye and his stormy treatment of the Bell Rock Lighthouse , amarvellous feat of engineeringdesignedbyRobert Stevenson andbuilt on a submerged reef off theAngus coast, south-east of Arbroath, between 1807 and1811. Contrastingwith thesedepictions of savage elemental forces, this year the exhibition featured a very fine watercolour on loan to theGallery from aprivate collection. VirginiaWater is one of apair of views of the royal pleasure grounds andgrand artificial lake inWindsor Great Park executedby Turner for KingGeorge IV in about 1829, althoughnot in the end acquired for theRoyal Collection. It depicts theKing’smagnificent, opulent Royal barge on the lake, with the recently built Chinese FishingTemple, designedby the architect JeffryWyatville, shown in the background. Alsoondisplaywas Turner’s spectacular 1820 viewof Rome, Rome fromMonteMario , whichwas acceptedbyHM Government in lieuof inheritance tax and allocated to the Gallery in 2011. 53