The works featured in this book will illustrate how the precocious young Turner succeeded in winning the admiration of two of the most influential collectors in Britain, as well as the crucial role his depictions of Salisbury played in his campaign to establish himself as the pre-eminent artist of his generation.

Turner's Wessex focuses attention on three aspects of Turner's many depictions of the Salisbury area. The first explores his responses to the Cathedral and town as a distinctive subject, particularly in connection with the commission he received from local antiquarian, Sir Richard Colt Hoare. The second addresses the series of views he painted of Fonthill for 'England's wealthiest son', the fascinating and eccentric William Beckford, which uniquely document the construction of this legendary neo-gothic Abbey. Finally, the book examines his work recording the central, southern counties of England, extending over a period of thirty years.

Institutions whose works feature in this book include:
Indianapolis Museum of Art; Yale Center for British Art; Art Gallery of Ontario; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Museum of Fine Arts Boston; Taft Museum of Art Cincinnati.