Joseph Mallord William Turner: A Pioneer of Light and Emotion Born in London on April 23, 1775, Joseph Mallord William Turner – often simply known as J.M.W. Turner – was a figure whose impact on the course of Western art remains profoundly significant. His life, marked by both artistic brilliance and personal eccentricity, coincided with a period of immense social and technological change in Britain, and his paintings became inextrica…