In 2025 we present an extraordinary exhibition celebrating the 250th anniversaries of the landscape painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) and novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817). For the very first time, the work of these two legendary artistic figures will be brought together, revealing the intersecting worlds of artist and author. 

In 1775, two icons of British culture were born into an era of huge social change. 250 years later, we celebrate the novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) and the landscape painter JMW Turner (1775- 1851) in a groundbreaking new exhibition that brings together the work of author and artist for the first time, uncovering their shared interest in the social and cultural life of the British country house and its landscape.

We imagine an encounter between these legendary figures, whose innovative works documented the Regency world. Through Austen’s and Turner’s eyes, the show explores the experience of the country house in the early nineteenth century, examining the creative impact of their perceptive gazes.

Turner’s famous paintings of Harewood and Harewood’s first edition copy of Sense and Sensibility are presented alongside rarely seen artefacts that highlight the personal experience as well as the colonial connections of the country house.

Loans from public and private collections, some on view in the north for the first time, include period costume, fashion plates, writing and artistic tools, paintings and watercolours, bringing this fascinating era to life. The exhibition will also present contemporary art and creative writing that reflect on how Turner’s and Austen’s creative legacies continue to shape our views of the country house today, in all of its complexities.

Austen and Turner is curated by Harewood House Trust in collaboration with The Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York.