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Fundraiser to buy lost Turner masterpiece hits £60k

Bea Swallow
BBC News, Bristol
Sotheby's A distant shot of the painting to show size comparison. It is displayed in a thick vintage gold frame and hung on a white wall. There is a woman standing on the left, with her black hair cut into a long bob and wearing a blue blazer, admiring the painting. Sotheby's
The artist's signature was discovered last year when the painting was cleaned during a restoration project

A fundraiser launched to buy a recently discovered JMW Turner painting, which remained unidentified for 150 years, has reached £60,000.

The Rising Squall features a former hot spring and spa in Bristol, as seen from the east bank of the River Avon before Clifton Suspension Bridge was built.

The painting goes under the hammer at Sotheby's auction house on 2 July, and is estimated to fetch between £200,000 - £300,000.

Bristol City Council, which owns Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, is trying to raise £100,000 from the public to help purchase the long-lost masterpiece and bring it home.

The gallery is believed to be the only public institution bidding, and the council hope to raise the rest of the money from other sources.

Sotheby's A close up of the painting without the gold frame. It shows two buildings with tall chimneys beside the River Avon. There is a yacht-like boat and a rowboat being tossed around in the waves. The lighter areas of the painting have turned yellow as the varnish ages. Sotheby's
The long-lost landscape showcases the artist's early experiments with oil paint

Painted in 1792, when Turner was 17, it is the earliest-known oil painting ever exhibited by the artist, and is believed to be the only one depicting a Bristol scene.

The artist's signature was only discovered last year when the canvas was cleaned during a restoration project.

The community fundraiser currently stands at more than £60,000.

If successful, the painting will join the Turner collection at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, where it will be freely accessible to the public.

If unsuccessful at auction, all donations made via Crowdfunder will be refunded.

Sotheby's The back of the painting, showing a dark stained wooden frame and dirty brown canvas. There are various scuffs and markings on the wood, indicating its age.Sotheby's
The 18th Century canvas is stretched over a stained wooden frame

Kate Newnham, senior curator of visual arts at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, said they had been "overwhelmed" by the response from the public.

"This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring one of Turner's earliest works home to the city which inspired him to paint it," she said.

"We think it is only right that this incredible artwork, which connects the city to one of the greatest artists in history at a defining moment in his life, sits in our building for all to enjoy for free."

The painting was debuted at the Royal Academy in 1793, three days after Turner's 18th birthday, before being bought by Reverend Robert Nixon, a customer of Turner's father's barber shop.

When Mr Nixon's son inherited the painting after his death it fell "into obscurity", having last been exhibited in Tasmania, Australia.

There was early mention of the painting in obituaries of Turner's life but for at least a century it was mistaken for a watercolour, meaning it was missing from the catalogue of his exhibited oil paintings.

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