Turner watercolours first shown at National Gallery 120 years ago 

In 1900, the National Gallery of Ireland received a bequest of 31 pieces of art by JMW Turner from collector Henry Vaughan

'A River in the Campagna', 1794/1797, by Joseph Mallord William Turner.

If, as seems likely, there will be no reprise of Ireland’s lockdown before January 31, it will be the first time in 120 years that the annual winter exhibition of Turner watercolours at the National Gallery will not be open to the public.

The 31 Turner watercolours were to have been shown this year alongside a group of 19 rare topographical drawings by Francis Place, who visited Ireland in 1698. Among them are the earliest known depictions of Drogheda, Dublin, Kilkenny, and Waterford within the national collection.