Dallas Museum of Art - J.M.W. Turner

Related Events and Programs

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Special Events
Lectures
Gallery Talks and Tours
Films
Performances and Concerts
Classes and Workshops
Audio Tour
Family Experiences

SPECIAL EVENTS

Tea with Turner
Saturdays, May 10 and May 17, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
J. M. W. Turner exhibition and Atrium Cafe

Spend a lovely afternoon inspired by the celebrated British artist J. M. W. Turner. After touring the exhibition, sample delicious English teas and treats in the Museum’s Atrium Cafe while enjoying classical performances inspired by the exhibition.

2:00 p.m. Exhibition Conversations
Click here for more information.

3:00 p.m. Afternoon Tea and Performance
Tea and treats available for purchase.

Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art
Friday, May 16, 6:00 p.m.–midnight
Late Night programs are included in general admission to the Museum.
The J. M. W. Turner exhibition requires an additional ticket.

Celebrate the exhibition J. M. W. Turner with a romantic evening featuring concerts, lectures, films, family activities, and performances in the galleries inspired by the work of Turner.

Full schedule of Late Night events

J. M. W. Turner Closing Weekend Celebration
Friday, May 16, 6:00 p.m.–midnight
Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Included in general admission to the Museum. The J. M. W. Turner exhibition requires an additional ticket.

See the exhibition before it closes and enjoy concerts, tours, films, artist demonstrations, and family activities.

LECTURES

The “Rolling Phrenzy of the Imagination”: J. M. W. Turner and British Marine Painting
Friday, May 16, 9:00 p.m., Horchow Auditorium
Included in general admission to the Museum

J. M. W. Turner’s marine subjects responded to the Romantic taste for sublime horror and helped shape public response to an era of British naval supremacy and imperial aspiration. As part of our Late Night special events, join Dr. Eleanor Hughes, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for British Art, as she examines Turner’s paintings in light of other British naval painters.

EXHIBITION CONVERSATIONS

Dust to Dust: Turner and the Idea of Transience
Saturday, May 10, 2:00 p.m., Horchow Auditorium
Free with paid admission to the Museum
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Throughout his career Turner returned again and again to themes of time and decay, the idea that “all things must pass.” Join Dr. Malcolm Warner, Acting Director of the Kimbell Art Museum, as he examines Turner’s pessimistic vision as expressed in his choice of subject matter—ruins were a lifelong fascination—and his technique, which suggests a world in flux and dissolution.

Turner’s Levant: Plague, Pilgrimage, and Ruins
Saturday, May 17, 2:00 p.m., Theater
Free with paid admission to the Museum
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

As part of our closing weekend festivities, join Dr. Eleanor Hughes, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Yale Center for British Art, for a discussion on the influence of “Egyptomania,” archaeological exploration, and the poetical works of Lord Byron on Turner’s paintings set in Egypt and Greece.

GALLERY TALKS & TOURS

Gallery Talks
Wednesdays, 12:15–1:00 p.m., Meet at the Visitor Services Desk
Included in admission to the J. M. W. Turner exhibition

Tour the exhibition with leading scholars and DMA staff members.

May 14
Turner and Trafalgar, Dr. John R. Lane, Director, DMA

Promotional support for Gallery Talks is provided by WRR Classical 101.1 FM.

FILMS

Vanity Fair
Friday, May 16, 10:00 p.m., Horchow Auditorium
Included in general admission to the Museum

Acclaimed director Mira Nair adapts William Thackeray’s classic novel—a satire of society in nineteenth-century England. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) uses her wit and cunning to ascend the social ladder and finds that “polite society turns out to be anything but as life gets harder and more complicated the higher she climbs.”
This film is rated PG-13.

Turner on the Tyne
Screening dates and times to be announced
Included in general admission to the Museum

J. M. W. Turner’s painting Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight (1835) inspired this film, which intercuts highly detailed images of the canvas with location shots of the historic, industrial Tyne River. Created as a collaboration between the National Gallery of Art, Washington and New York filmmaker Grahame Weinbren, it is the first in a long-term project to present evocative films that inspire closer looking at original works of art.

Love in the Time of Turner: A Jane Austen Film Festival
Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Orientation Theater
Included in general admission to the Museum

Be transported to the well-mannered society of Regency England during the Turner Closing Weekend Celebration. Enjoy classic films based on the novels of one of England’s most beloved writers, including Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and more.

PERFORMANCES AND CONCERTS

Performances in the Galleries
Saturdays, 3:00 p.m.
Included in general admission to the Museum

Enjoy concerts, readings, and performances inspired by the J. M. W. Turner exhibition.

May 10
Romantic Violin Music from the Time of Turner, Kristin Van Cleve

May 17
Sea Symphonies from the Time of Turner, Erika Kinser

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

After Turner: Impressionism
Selected Saturdays
11:00 a.m.–noon, Dallas Museum of Art galleries, $45

Brush up on your French with Celine Glon of the Alliance Française du Texas du Nord in this series of language classes exploring the painters who came after Turner, including Manet and other impressionists.

For more information and to register for these classes, please call Alliance Française at 214-234-0165 or visit their website. Each class requires a minimum of six people and will be conducted in French (with English translation if necessary).

AUDIO TOUR

Don’t forget to listen to the specially designed audio tour accompanying the J. M. W. Turner exhibition! Produced by the National Gallery of Art and Acoustiguide, it includes four new stops featuring Dr. Dorothy Kosinski and Dr. John R. Lane from the Dallas Museum of Art. The audio tour is included free with paid admission to the exhibition. The audio tour is available for purchase for $6 for members and others who receive free admission to the exhibition.

FAMILY EXPERIENCES

The Gateway Gallery is closed for construction of the Center for Creative Connections. Until April 30, family experiences will be held in the Tower Gallery on Level 4.

View the J. M. W. Turner exhibition and participate in family activities, including art projects. Use a Turner travel map and journey through time and the Museum’s collections to earn
passport stamps.

For more information about family experiences, call 214-922-1822, or e-mail familyexperiences@DallasMuseumofArt.org.

Image: J. M. W. Turner, Peace–Burial at Sea, 1842, oil on canvas, Tate, London, Bequeathed by the Artist, 1856, © Tate, London