One of the few major Turner paintings still in private hands will be on display in London for a few days, giving the public a rare chance to see it before it’s sold at auction.
Rome, From Mount Aventine by J. M. W. Turner
The painting, Rome, from Mount Aventine, was painted in 1836, and is one of the few major late works by J.M.W. Turner still in private hands. It last appeared at auction in 2014, when it sold for £30.3 million, setting an auction record for the artist.
Sotheby’s expects the forthcoming sale to surpass that figure – and could fetch as much as £50 million.
The view of Rome was commissioned by Turner’s close friend and patron Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar. It is thought to have been started in Italy, then completed back in London.
After Munro’s death, Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery and a future prime minister, bought the painting in 1878 as a wedding gift for Hannah de Rothschild, then the wealthiest woman in Britain. He paid £6,142, by far the highest price for any painting in the estate sale.
It remained with the Rosebery family until it was sold at Sotheby’s in 2014.
According to Sotheby’s, that long continuity of ownership has helped preserve the painting’s unusually fresh condition. It remains on its original canvas and in its original frame, and has never been relined or restored. Turner’s fingerprints, marks left by his palette knife and even brush hairs caught in the wet paint are still visible.
The painting will go on display at Sotheby’s on Bond Street from Friday 9th to Thursday 15th October 2026.
Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm
Saturday from 12pm to 5pm
Sunday from 1pm to 5pm
Details here.
Officially, it’s a viewing for prospective buyers, but viewings are open to everyone, making them an often overlooked way of seeing great art and collections for free.