He was so keen on clambering around the craggy cliffs of the Avon Gorge as a teenager that he was nicknamed \u201cprince of the rocks\u201d.<\/p>\n
An exhibition featuring rarely seen JMW Turner<\/a> watercolours inspired by his nimble explorations of the gorge is opening at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. They are so fragile that they are rarely brought out of careful storage and may not be seen again for a while.<\/p>\n The show is partly a thank you to members of the public who donated more than \u00a3100,000 in a week, allowing the museum to bid for another recently discovered Turner painting of Bristol, The Rising Squall<\/a>. Despite the efforts of Bristol art lovers and the museum, an anonymous UK private collector came in with a higher sum, scuppering the \u201cbring Turner home\u201d<\/a> effort.<\/p>\n The Bristol museum was outbid by a private collector for Turner\u2019s The Rising Squall. Photograph: Malcolm Park\/Alamy<\/p>\n On display in the show are four watercolours painted by Turner during his first visit to the city at the end of the 18th century when he was 16. They reveal his growing skill in architectural detail, natural observation and dramatic composition.<\/p>\n Julia Carver, a curator of art at the museum, said Turner came to Bristol<\/a> on holiday in 1791 and stayed with a family friend, John Narraway, a glue maker and fell monger (a dealer in animal skins). \u201cThey called him prince of the rocks because he spent so much time at the gorge,\u201d Carver said.<\/p>\n His jaunts in and around the gorge showed Turner\u2019s commitment to getting into the heart of the landscapes he painted, and throw forward to the story (which may be apocryphal<\/a>) that in later life he bound himself to a ship\u2019s mast to paint Snow Storm: Steam-Boat Off a Harbour\u2019s Mouth.<\/p>\n Avon Gorge and Bristol Hotwell by JMW Turner. Photograph: c\/o Bristol Museum & Art Gallery<\/p>\n One of the paintings in the show is called The Mouth of the Avon, Near Bristol, Seen from Cliffs Below Clifton. The view towards the sea is framed by the rocky walls of a spectacular cave<\/a> underneath the site of the Clifton Observatory. \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely, dramatic view,\u201d Carver said.<\/p>\n A second painting, Avon Gorge and Bristol Hotwell, is another version of the view he painted in The Rising Squall when he returned to the city in 1792.<\/p>\n Carver said the museum did not know who pipped them to The Rising Squall. \u201cWe would be, of course, delighted if they were interested in lending the painting to us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Philip Walker, the head of culture and creative industries at Bristol city council, said: \u201cBring Turner home was the most ambitious fundraising campaign we\u2019ve ever attempted and we were overwhelmed by the support it received. This exhibition is our way of thanking supporters and celebrating Turner\u2019s deep connection to Bristol.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Your weekly art world round-up, sketching out all the biggest stories, scandals and exhibitions<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cWith Prince of the Rocks, we can share his own Bristol watercolours, fragile works that rarely go on display, and mark his enduring legacy in this city.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibition features other prints by Turner and watercolours of the gorge by the Bristol artist Samuel Jackson<\/a>, part of the Bristol School working 30 years after Turner.<\/p>\n