Joseph Mallord William Turner
English, 1775–1851
What You Will!
1822
In this painting Turner pays tribute to both the eighteenth-century French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau and the playwright William Shakespeare. The depiction of lighthearted outdoor entertainment, a style known as fête galante, was a specialty of Watteau but an unusual theme for Turner. What You Will is the subtitle of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a play that involves mistaken identities and flirtatious encounters between characters.
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 19 5/8 x 21 3/8 in. (49.8 x 54.3 cm) Frame: 25 3/4 x 27 3/8 x 2 7/8 in. (65.4 x 69.5 x 7.3 cm) |
| Object Number | 2007.8.107 |
| Acquisition | Gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Joseph Mallord William Turner, What You Will!, 1822, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007.8.107
Select Bibliography
Thomas Agnew and Sons. Annual Exhibition on Behalf of the Artist's General Benevolent Institution. Exhibition catalogue. London: Thomas Agnew and Sons, 1910.
. Turner 1775-1851. Royal Academy, London, November 16, 1974-March 2, 1975. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. J. M. W. Turner à l'occasion du cinquantième anniversaire du British Council. Paris: Ministere de la Culture, Editions de la Réunion des Musées nationaux,1983. Wilton, Andrew. William Turner: Licht und Farbe. Köln: DuMont; Essen: Museum Folkwang, 2001. Noon, Patrick. Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics. Exhibition catalogue. London: Tate Publishing, 2003. Burnet, John and Peter Cunningham. Turner and his Works. London: James S. Virtue. 1859. Ruskin, John. Modern Painters. Vol. 3 & 4. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1856. Reprinted in E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, The Works of John Ruskin, Library edition, 1903-12. Thornbury, Walter. The Life of J. M. T. Turner, R.A. 2nd edition. London: Chatto & Windus, 1877. Bell, Charles Francis. A List of the Works Contributed to Public Exhibitions by J. M. W. Turner, R.A. London: G. Bell, 1901. Whitley, W.T. Art in England, 1821-1837. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1930. Reprinted New York: Hacker Art Books, 1973 (see ND467 W47 Repr). Finberg, Alex J. The Life of J. M. W. Turner, R.A. 2nd rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961. Rothenstein, John, and Martin Butlin. Turner. New York: G. Braziller, 1964. Ziff, Jerrold. "Copies of Claude's Paintings in the Sketch Books of J.M.W. Turner." Gazette des Beaux Arts LXV (January 1965): 51–[64?]. Lindsay, Jack. J. M. W. Turner, His Life and Work: A Critical Biography. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1966. Reynolds, Graham. Turner. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1969. Joll, Evelyn and Martin Butlin. Catalogue of the Paintings of J. M. W. Turner. Studies in British Art. 2. vols. London: Yale University Press. 1977. Gage, John, ed. Collected Correspondence of J. M. W. Turner. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. Stuckley, Charles F. "Turner's Birthdays." Turner Society News 21 April 1981: 28. Wittingham, Selby. "What You Will; or Some Notes Regarding the Influence of Watteau on Turner and Other British Artists." Turner Studies: His Art and Epoch 1775–1851 5, no. 1 (Summer 1985): 2–24. Armstrong, Sir Walter. Turner. 2 volumes. London: T. Agnew; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1902. Chancellor, E. Beresford. The Lives of the British Sculptors. London: Chapman & Hall. 1911. Hind, C. Lewis. Turner's Golden Visions. London: T.C. & E.C. Jack. 1925. Gage, John. Colour in Turner: Poetry and Truth. London: Studio Vista, 1969. Wilton, Andrew. "The Keepsake Convention: Jessica and some related pictures." Turner Studies 9.2 (1989): 14-33. Wilton, Andrew. Turner in His Time. New York: Harry Abrams, 1987. Wilton, Andrew. Turner, Girtin and Bonington: A New York Private Collection, Paintings, Watercolours, and Drawings. New York: Privately Published, 2001. Wittingham, Selby. "What You Will; or Some Notes Regarding the Influence of Watteau on Turner and Other British Artists." Turner Studies 5.2 (Winter 1985): 2848. Gage, John. J.M.W. Turner: 'A Wonderful Range of Mind'. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. 1987. Butlin, Martin, Mollie Luther and Ian Warrell. Turner at Petworth: Painter & Patron. London: Tate Publishing. 1989. Shanes, Eric. Turner's Human Landscapes. London: Heinemann. 1990. Thomas Agnew & Sons. Paintings and Watercolours by J.M.W. Turner, R.A. Exhibition catalogue. London: Thomas Agnew & Sons, 1967. Wilton, Andrew. J. M. W. Turner, His Art and Life. New York: Rizzoli, 1979. Clarke, Jay, ed. Landscape, Innovation, and Nostalgia: The Manton Collection of British Art. Williamstown, MA: The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2012. Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012.EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1822–d. 1841); Lady Chantrey, his wife, by descent (1841–61, sale, Christie’s, London, 15 June 1861, no. 91, sold to Agnew’s); [Agnew’s, London, from 1861]; R. Newsham; J. H. Nettlefold (until 1910, his sale, Christie’s, London, 12 Feb. 1910, no. 68, sold to Vicars Brothers); [Vicars Brothers, London, sold to Agnew’s]; [Agnew’s, London, sold to Darell-Brown]; Sir H. Darell-Brown (until d. 1924, sold to Rofé in 1927, with Agnew’s as agent for Darell-Brown Estate);¹ Albert Rofé (1927–59, sold to Agnew’s); [Agnew’s, London, sold to Sobell, 1959]; Sir Michael Sobell (1959–d. 1993, sale, Christie’s, London, 15 Apr. 1994, no. 60, sold to Pilkington); Brian Pilkington (from 1994); [Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, sold to Manton, 27 Dec. 1999]; Sir Edwin A. G. Manton, New York (1999–d. 2005); Manton Family Art Foundation (2005–7, given to the Clark); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2007. 1. The painting was offered for sale at H. Darell-Brown’s posthumous sale, Christie’s, London, 23 May 1924, no. 42, ill., but was bought in.
