Turner and Constable

Nicola Moorby is an art historian and Curator of British Art 1790-1850 at Tate Britain. She has written widely on J.M.W. Turner, watercolour and early British modernism.

“Spirited and absorbing. . . . Dispel[s] myths and show[s] how the two artists defined and played off against each other.”—Jenny Uglow, New York Review of BooksAn Art Newspaper Book of the Year 2025“[Moorby’s] approach, which allows each artist’s work to be illuminated in terms of the other, provides a way of addressing what really matters in any artist’s life story: the work they leave behind.”—Ben Street, Times Literary Supplement“Moorby astutely explores the parallels in [Turner and Constable’s] practices, highlighting how both men furthered British landscape painting.”—Gareth Harris, Art Newspaper“Highly enjoyable and sharply written. . . . Moorby sets out to examine the artists ‘side by side instead of face to face’ and helps us to see them in a refreshingly new light.”—Bendor Grosvenor, Times (UK)A Spectator Art Book of the Year 2025“Sorting fact from fiction, Moorby offers a fresh perspective on [Turner and Constable’s] careers while simultaneously charting the triumph of British landscape painting in the 18th century.”—Christie’s“[A] full and perceptive study of two great artists.”—Robin Simon, Literary Review“Moorby perceptively traces two mutually informative lives and careers, which have been followed individually many times before but never so fully in parallel.”—Andrew Loukes, Art Newspaper“Elegantly written . . . deeply satisfying. . . . This book is a reminder that close attention to nature—and to brushstroke—can still move us.”—Megan Fox Kelly, Observer, “Art Books Shaping Summer 2025”“Moorby fuses diverse perspectives in order to preserve the thrill of hagiography without sacrificing integrity to sensationalist accounts.”—Ella Nixon, The Critic“[Moorby] has read widely and provides generously by way of an introduction to both artists.”—Nicholas Cranfield, Church Times“By peeling back the layers of fiction that surround their achievements, [Moorby] offers a fresh look at their careers throughout the late 1700s and 1800s and charts the rise of landscape painting for which they are best known.”—Alice Henderson, Business Traveller“A pleasure to read . . . and will appeal both to the average intelligent reader and the art expert.”—Bernard Richards, Oxford Magazine“Nicola Moorby rises admirably to the challenge of telling the fascinating story of . . . Turner and Constable . . . not only providing a vivid portrait of each protagonist, but also skilfully delineating the social and artistic milieu in which they operated.”—Mark Jones, Albion Magazine