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Romantic painter JMW Turner to feature on British 20 pound note

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner will be the new face on the British 20 pound note, the governor of the Bank of England (BoE) announced on Friday.

Bank governor Mark Carney told journalists at a press briefing held at the Turner Contemporary art gallery: "Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative for the art world. His influence spanned his lifetime and well beyond."

Turner (1775 - 1851) was famous for his landscape paintings, in the Romantic tradition, and his work extended the Romantic landscape tradition towards Impressionism, which came to prominence after his death.

The image of Turner on the banknote is taken from his self-portrait, currently held by Tate Britain gallery.

The self-portrait appears to date from around 1799 when Turner was about 24 years old. It was possibly intended to mark an important moment in his career, when he was elected to be an Associate of the Royal Academy.

Also featured on the note will be the Turner painting "The Fighting Temeraire," currently part of the British National Gallery's collection.

The image on the new note is based on the famous painting of HMS Temeraire, a veteran ship of the Battle of Trafalgar and saviour of Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, being towed to its final resting place by a steam tug. Turner, who called the painting his darling, couldn't bring himself to sell it, but left it instead to the nation upon his death.

National Gallery director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, said: "Every time you pull out a 20 pound note from your pocket, purse or cash machine, you will be reminded of the nation's best-loved picture in the National Gallery and a masterpiece by one of Britain's greatest painters."

Turner was chosen as the face for the 20 pound note from public nominations of suitable artistic figures. The notes will be issued from 2020 onwards, and for the first time will be printed as polymer notes rather than paper notes.

Polymer notes are cleaner, more secure, and more durable than paper banknotes. They will provide enhanced counterfeit resilience, and increase the quality of banknotes in circulation. Endit