Ways of Turner: Tracing His Northern Tour by Monika Müller
4 October – 21 December 2025
In 1816, J. M. William Turner travelled through northern England to gather material for a planned publication, A General History of the County of York, for which he was to contribute 120 views. The Volumes were never realised due to financial constraints.
Many years later, Swiss artist Monika Müller was inspired by Turner’s journey and developed her own long-term project titled Ways of Turner—a series of 120 landscape drawings that continue Turner’s unfinished work.
Her project was deeply influenced by David Hill’s art-historical research into Turner’s 1816 tour. Hill’s publication, which meticulously retraced Turner’s northern journey, served as a foundation for Müller’s long-term work.
Over five years, Müller followed in Turner’s footsteps, undertaking solo hikes through valleys and moors in northern England. She sketched, photographed, and absorbed the landscape, later translating these impressions into a 120-part series of graphite and pencil landscape drawings. The works blend abstraction with topographic detail, referencing Turner’s palette and viewpoints while developing her own graphic language.
In 2024, Müller published Ways of Turner, a comprehensive book presenting the complete series of drawings. The publication includes a contribution by David Hill, who wrote an insightful essay connecting Turner’s original journey with Müller’s artistic continuation.
Complementing the visual work, composer Thomas K.J. Mejer created Graphite Scores, a modular sound piece featuring 120 individual sounds—one for each drawing—performed on four bass transverse flutes. Together, the visual and musical elements form an immersive experience of the northern English landscape, both historical and contemporary.
Further information:
- Brantwood is open every day during summer (10.30 – 5.00) and Wednesday to Sunday (from 13 November) during winter (10.30 – 4.30), also closing on Christmas & Boxing Day.
- Costs: Admission to the house and gardens is £15.00 for adults, £12.50 for students and free for children (16 and under).
- Location Brantwood, Coniston, Cumbria LA21 8AD
- For more information please call 015394 41396; email: enquiries@brantwood.org.uk
