2 November 2013 to 2 March 2014
Royal Pavilion, Prince Regent Gallery
Admission payable, members free

This exhibition centres on the recent acquisition of J M W Turner’s watercolour Brighthelmston, Sussex (1824).

Capturing Brighton’s history as a seaside resort, this painting had previously been out of sight in private ownership for over 100 years. In January 2012 the work was put up for auction, and the Royal Pavilion & Museums successfully acquired it, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund and the Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation.

The exhibition celebrates the acquisition of Brighthelmston, Sussex by showing how Turner and his contemporaries perceived the town at the height of its development in the 1820s, during the reign of George IV.

Loans from national galleries such as Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum and private collectors will provide the context for Brighthelmston, Sussex.