The Sun Is God: Turner,  Angerstein, and Insurance

The day after his father’s funeral in late September 1829, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) signed his first will. Outlining the creation of an ambitious charity for impoverished painters amid convulsive reforms to state subsidies to the poor, the will gifted to Britain’s fledgling National Gallery a pair of Turner’s own works. Opened some five years earlier inside the townhouse of insurance magnate John Julius Angerstein, the National Gallery was to receive Turner’s Dido Building Carthage (exh. 1815) and The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire (Tate Gallery; exh. 1817).1 A second will in 1831 substituted Turner’s Sun Rising Through Vapour (exh. 1807) for the latter picture; but a codicil added in 1832 brought the painter’s posthumous legacy directly into the financial domain that had funded the Gallery’s first home (Figs 1 and 2). The 1832 codicil instructed executors to continue paying the lease on Turner’s property at 47 Queen Anne Street, which then housed his artistic output, along with covering ‘all necessary charges for keeping and taking care insurance from fire cleansing and holding the same as Turner’s Gallery’.2 An artist’s gift to a national collection built from – and first staged in – the property of an insurance underwriter was itself made contingent upon the purchase of insurance. Joseph Mallord William Turner, Dido Building Carthage, or the Rise of the Carthaginian Empire, 1815, oil on canvas, 155.5 × 230 cm. Turner bequest, 1856. © The National Gallery, London. Joseph Mallord William Turner, Sun Rising through Vapour: Fishermen Cleaning and Selling Fish, before 1807, oil on canvas, 134 × 179.5 cm. Turner bequest, 1856. © The National Gallery, London. The use of insurance has not gone unobserved in the voluminous scholarship centred around Turner. ‘Curious … badly expressed and in certain places ambiguous’, the insurance-specifying codicil of 1832 figures in Robert Cumming’s protestation that Turner never meant to enfold all his surviving production into a posthumous bequest.3 Sam Smiles has highlighted how the painter directed his solicitor, George Cobb, to require prospective lessees in the late 1820s to purchase fire insurance for the Ship and Bladebone. That was the pub at 7–8 New Gravel Lane in Wapping that the painter had inherited in 1821; it housed an exploited class of ‘coal whippers’ who unloaded fossil fuels onto London’s docks.4 By the 1830s, as Leo Costello observes, insurance had entered Turner’s critical discourse. So brightly did the fiery colours of Turner’s paintings burn at Royal Academy’s spring exhibition in 1832 that one commentator hoped ‘the Academy is insured—or perhaps the picture is painted on canvas of asbestos’.5 In those years when his will was first drafted and revised, Turner was also making use of insurance instruments closer to Angerstein’s ken. Writing in February 1829 to painter Charles Lock Eastlake (a future Director of the National Gallery), Turner hoped that artworks he had shipped from Rome ‘are half way home and insured for 500 and you have the invoice’.6 Months later, the painter instructed Eastlake to consult a factor in Rome ‘about the Pictures and write me what agent he consigned them to; surely they are one among the Fishes, the trouble of getting things home is abominable and if lost of whom am I to demand the insurance of the 500?’.7 Where fire insurance was to protect Turner’s art beyond the span of his mortal coil, marine insurance would cover his earthly purchases travelling by sea. The mandate to insure art and insurance’s reciprocal demands upon the art world are, so it is said, recent developments of global capitalism.8 ‘Specialist art insurance’, as one industry-friendly interpreter puts it, ‘was … developed in the 1960s by insurance executives at AXA ART (who, incidentally, were also collectors) once they determined that ordinary replacement-value insurance was not sufficient for art or other valuable collectibles’.9 The power of insurance in the contemporary art world is indisputable, if hardly clear. Inspired by the ingenious work of literary historian Benno Wagner, this article the of Turner and as an for the of insurance through the and of art in with Angerstein’s in the of marine insurance at of from the I to his of by of by an underwriter of marine Angerstein’s would a on the the of the painter’s insurance purchases and in the second the article how they upon what has to as the of insurance in Turner’s the and on of is not some of a that Angerstein’s or Turner’s art to insurance I to the and of that have to insurance to it would so is from and the of insurance’s through the and of artistic Joseph Mallord William Turner, the and oil on canvas, × cm. of a A from the his and his as from his that not So when this by John Julius was at Gallery of in to was in of around as a of at around as historian has it, ‘was a and for and and of but … not a figures in of that with a of who from in the the at the were by first in the of in for the use of in the Royal In the of the of that the purchase of insurance on those who would insurance from with of by the late he a that a to the of historian George to the in it that a built on the in the first class for a of of the same built at an would in the class for years The of a in the – and to – a insurance for five John Julius Angerstein, oil on canvas, × cm. In an when the in with the A to some and as to insurance in is an of and I would to one with to or other from by and then a of that he to in if I not a I not his if I not his and the underwriter by was as a of an of as a of the underwriter … a of and it so his to the that if is a in one he is at … a who to and and and those were of to Angerstein’s of insurance. by in the late to the at so an of and in New of of Angerstein’s had London. had a on with on a and By the and of a Angerstein’s had an to the the had ‘the to upon of and and … the to them in the state of as were and the the would on for in the years of this the and – the so to – of to paintings by of that from In his first A painted in for a of with the of would have to The picture had first from Rome in the by William Lock of Lock was not a but the whom would to in as that the financial of his in that had painted for with the of and also as The on to a by that in and a second with the of the Queen of A of painted in for of the in then for with and by and a A at to the of his collection in the In an of same as from the of the to of in the painter’s from the to his and as and it is as Angerstein’s had in of and of in those of marine that the and the and the in what to Angerstein’s with the of the Queen of at the in the as the Queen of into a the The picture work of the for the a that will to in The of the the along the a into a at by the for all the of by the figures in the through that in at and the from to the a is the by by a at the of the of the from the of the the and with or not have of his on canvas through what has the the and of his are all into the from which the will … with the of the Queen of oil on canvas, × cm. © The National Gallery, London. The the of marine insurance and Angerstein’s in paintings has gone in but the so would hardly to have with to the for to have for at an in the years around before purchase in painter Joseph the this never by in a state of or that The made with the of then in Angerstein’s so the Angerstein’s of the was if not – by those of art as the and what would if the that have Angerstein’s for of and in of the insurance of the painter future would to when from an paintings to a painter’s from to In late a his first fire insurance as a in Pictures a Joseph Mallord William Turner of from the Sun Turner had his in the the Royal Academy’s spring as the property insured by Sun in was That was Turner’s the of the in which his also a of Sun insurance in the had first the painter’s on the in the by – a itself funded by and to a Turner insured in was not his home but in his was Turner’s By the Turner had developed a of through and were by at the of William Lock and other in the painter would made into on from his or for the By one Turner had from this The for all were in his in Joseph with from in September Turner hardly that of a of into artistic but he from it By the he his Sun in late he in in the of a that had in one By Turner had to in which on his on the property to a exhibition as Turner’s the with the the as in an and the of this the the of the and then through a into the and a were into the the of to the an of some those and that Turner’s oil paintings in the Royal Academy’s some in figures the to Turner in as he had with his in Turner as a through his as in a Sun on his fledgling Turner for not one it to the a of in the at Turner a of in to the at in That a of insured – the to or half a or this with the painter also insured the for of his his is a In the Turner had into the lease for in he of to the for around of the he had on the painter had his at a and a of the had at a of Turner’s recent surely a of of Turner’s insurance of Street, Royal and Sun A from the to Turner a of (a also to the of insured in the in is certain Turner’s what has to a of on to a in 1807, Royal Academy had Turner’s and ‘was with what he on the have for the exhibition on for the first of Turner’s ambitious in of is what Turner not to the of his Sun Rising through a picture he would as to write into his will was at the Royal Academy exhibition By the the had into a So John who a of the paintings in had at a of a The Turner’s of – what he of – by the and the to of and which had as as his of the late Turner’s as a for the in a that the and the the and in an Turner’s a and as that on the from the painter’s of the from the he had in as had not that and would the of Turner’s at the Royal Academy’s exhibition in A in which a is by The or the had by as an to art in his own was by By the of marine at Turner’s Gallery the painter’s own to the Gallery’s in spring Turner, of had a Sun which the of and Turner of a in his own along with of fire on the to the of the in the Sun was to he the and of of in Turner’s … they by the to to the and them with a in and Turner’s did not the exhibition was a financial of the oil the painter of were for of as had in his was not a of Turner’s The of the of in the of the at the in this oil a in to the for Turner had it … with at the of it is not to that – it the insurance on Turner’s – was also the of of a fire in which the painter a Turner, the was at the so one historian of the was one of the and he The Turner in in on 1 September he of for that he a into of and which were or by September he had the the on and the on In his at the Turner that on for in the By the of he of The and would Turner have made purchases of fire insurance and In financial a for by the to a of by the it was in by one of Turner’s for a painter not years in and a for fire cover have a of – and a one at A among the fire Royal and the Sun would have an In an to insurance meant the of by the underwriter and with the of literary historian John that insurance the and the as was in of would have by the from fire and … the of the covering the fire had to from the that they also have and prospective at Turner’s with of and and Robert Sun fire © The of the the of fire in Turner’s it is not to with Turner was ‘the of into the first of as historian of the painter’s with Leo Costello has to a of the of London’s that a Turner at the Royal Academy in The of the in the of Turner to the fire itself and as Costello is that the fire that Turner has the of of insurance before of Royal in the a in a the of the onto a – on which the painter has his Turner’s of the insurance in the with of the but the also then to have an to a financial by of insurance. by in on London’s Street, the had as an in for those that the was fire that the of this as of the have for a of the a was to the of ‘the who the on to the Joseph Mallord William Turner, The of the of and oil on canvas, × × The of of John Joseph Mallord William Turner, The the after the and on × cm. London. the is some half a later, Turner would to to insurance in his of the in of into a in the of The Ship as the from which they have a The picture is as a on the of from the of the of William in late and The through in the the for of as an at By the of the first John Turner’s of ‘the as it the of the upon the in of was not his but a to artistic if I were to Turner’s upon by his will and Turner did not the that The he would will to insured fire and then in the National Gallery were Dido Building Carthage and Sun Rising through 1 and 2). Turner’s will also a that the or paintings and that is to the painted by the and his to that Turner’s own would to for they continue to Angerstein’s with the of and and with the of the Queen of Turner’s is also to and to insurance in at one other the the painter has through The Turner was directly with a those years when he was first the fire insurance on his and historian Sam Smiles has the of Turner and in a a through in – on the of Britain’s of in – the was a of insurance Smiles ‘the was as a an in which the of the one of the Smiles the that had the to the underwriter to from as was his not in the same but had as a for of the of the that would as Turner’s artistic in the of a that the painter had with the insurance magnate of has by will and Turner’s Turner’s with in a insurance the artist’s so insurance’s on The Ship how Turner’s to the of The is it first and it to a of the a of of and That is what late art historian John as he the of the in The to the same when was the of Writing in the of the and The Ship to a by on the for in how the of had to insurance then in in the of Turner’s a to ‘the of the which Turner have of in his … or in the of of the of the from by that The Ship an of Turner’s to the painter’s literary at a of his to the in the Royal Academy’s exhibition the literary for The Ship from The of Turner’s with the among the and at the of ‘the of the for Turner not had as a it also expressed his of an in which was to a had the in of a second of of as the that the how the painter that the for Turner the the to the they insurance for lost at not for those of The into through an of that to art historian who the with of Where and had the for Turner’s with through the of a of from a of The through was for is certain that Turner this would his of the to on a from In a if Turner’s of through The Ship also as a of the the latter had in the that as to was not from the that and had as the painter’s In figures of and them through a from first of the in a his the to the to in he Turner’s to recent in Britain’s the on the ‘the and the and in Turner’s picture as an an through the as cover for and were but one of Turner’s The Ship was an of the in the of – that those to in the from the in Ship … in the of a by the that the Royal was a that had the with of the The Ship a of and through Turner’s recent have the in which to a the of Turner’s to literary historian Turner’s is an of the of the and the of the that made he the to the highlighted by with of Turner’s own insurance The Ship as in to the of and In a to which I will the picture a of things as they are as a of what not as a of a global things are what not historian Leo has the and on contemporary not to the picture as a of the or of he to it as a which made to and that this is to how the picture and Turner’s to in of the the of from the earlier to the later, the in the same they and with with So by the and Turner, have a world in which the and of art had to in of the and by insurance by as Turner his and as his they by as the painter insurance on of as once insurance a way to with the future and then Turner’s insurance as a to through – and so in an Britain’s National Gallery home and had built with insurance as the of The and have to the of insurance on on the art it would in of the of the painter’s with for Turner’s to what if The Ship is through the of insurance that the painter had then for half a In what I those by on the of and I how of from the of brought to the and to the had the Royal Academy’s when Turner at the in he was as the Academy’s of in 1807, Turner with into amid for his which in in Royal and were artistic the of or of the same the is had will but In with the of that of and have the and as with the from as … to have a or which is would so the will of the same is the or of all to a of that had to the of the so the of insurance was not … to a in of but to a on that the of to this as a of to as Where the what did to the in which have the underwriter for the of the or and this as that Turner in that Turner to the of the from a of that the and through what ‘the of the Turner a of of of to the of insurance from which it The Ship what as it an of the of the of the the Turner The of that – along with a – by the by Costello in of a of the in which The Ship the and through the 1830s, Costello the picture a … by the and and and a of a from the of to the of it have did continue beyond the of in and of those as in but the of the in from to and other in the had Costello of Turner’s ‘was a that the to and by and a of as if from a second this also into to and the of from of the by the of the literary and the the before the The and the – before literary by those were critical to Turner’s contemporary A for in September the necessary to the the of to the is to the the have a to some of that what was to to who had to in a by the of as by in the had a for a A in that the of the so John in his of the and of in all to brought into a or in which all in and are to an or of what was for the had to to the of the the with the the and to on a had the of the with of underwriter Robert made the of as it in his on the and of by and by it have the the would to that the of the of that one it at the the of would were to what to the had in this way of of the on which to he what the and if had would have if they had all to one and had for from a of were the for along with the and on were the of and the of to and the of on his as a those in the of the The of the to is the on at the of or the at the of of the is the was as it or before the was the of the is the by the after the In the had directly to when the as the of the at and which to by the at a of for The then Turner’s picture to the with an to the of a in the that Turner’s are in at the with the of a a of through the at by the of the the of in the the and that of would as an in with the to the the in as by the and other the picture as by the of In the the to not but also of and Turner’s to of to the this of with or to some if as from some then how would for the of in the it perhaps the of the the for to Turner by of The after would that the of some of to whom would from the of and are, of to those of in the by in the and the to at the of insurance’s of for a as had it in to the made the and the the with the … in the at of all the of the same that by this of by the of and it that Turner had to a – a of in – in the when he The Ship in spring the canvas in the Royal so and an of the of of the of the of the of Britain’s By of with The Ship was consigned to that ‘the the of the is … to and that of – of and – is it first it is that The Ship with and to that were but of the Turner in were they in the same The Ship in what the at the Academy’s among some other it with paintings by Turner. those were of the of one was a of in the of and and was in the Academy’s it was with a among of other The would as a of in of had in of insurance on was to before and after the so historian observes, were by was a and way of a to who had for of the would also have in from the of in to the had to the to but to who had lost through By some had made by or on to a – itself in through what historian the of and – of on the to it, that to and to for the to contemporary and I am is the on all at the Royal Academy in – with of to the of the with by Turner’s with the in – of the power of The Ship in the of an as it to for of and to them among a of into a before those of highlighted by with national of in the of that Turner’s or a in a of so contemporary the with his own at in 1829, Turner had whom am I to demand the In The the this Where is the that (a for the painter’s literary at the Royal Academy had to the in Turner’s and to a Britain’s as an of the – for a and insurance as was Turner – on the with which to of to for into of by then is a By of the of The Ship – along with what has ‘the to in … the of – to the of insurance’s into the art of Turner and his I by that in and in amid to marine insurance and to lost through Britain’s insurance in was an he on was if not and his before not as a of his his to the world of the underwriter by and all to and by an in the to were Turner’s by in of in by and in the of the to an as has to those of by and and and and this and – from Angerstein’s – into the of Angerstein, perhaps not from the insurance in That of into the from of insurance’s as it was in the of the were the and so has the and and that made and a of the insurance has the in to the as late as of insurance to the of Through the of it to ‘the or the of In insurance the and in a of insurance by the late as ‘the of the an through the of the insurance in places by a of for the and had to Turner, directly in his and in his posthumous for his those to for a in that of Angerstein’s before Writing also in the had the of on the of earlier for the state to into to the would the of to and who exploited the through was not an in Through the of the the would a for the of by the to the of the in the … by to them of a of own that the and the that would on to how the and and other

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.