Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter, Harewood House

They are the Regency ‘greats’, writer Jane Austen and JMW Turner and this year is the 250th anniversary of their birth.

In Yorkshire, their link with Harewood House and estate is celebrated with a year of Regency reflection – and revelry as we learn more about their time visiting the estate and how those visits made their way to works we are familiar with today.

Neither Austen nor Turner were from aristocratic backgrounds but they both had privileged access to the grand world of Harewood, whether as invited guests, tourists or through family connections. Turner’s paintings of Harewood remain some of the most iconic works in Harewood’s collection.

Whilst Austen and Turner never met, a new exhibition delves into what might have happened if they had.

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851, Self-Portrait c.1799, TATE As a young, aspiring artist at the very start of his career, Turner was invited by the Lascelles family to paint the House and its landscape, producing nine paintings of the house, castle and surrounding landscapes.

Harewood provided the springboard for one of the most important sketching trips of Turner’s career, where he discovered his love of landscape and began to push the boundaries of watercolour painting.

Jane Austen knew of the Lascelles family at Harewood, suggestively naming a character after them in ‘Mansfield Park’ (1814), a novel that explores empire and slavery as key themes. Harewood House as built by Edwin Lascelles, using profits from the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people and associated industries.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary since their shared birth year with new narratives, ‘Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter’ is curated by Harewood House Trust in collaboration with The Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York.

Portrait of Jane Austen (1775-1817). Supplied The exhibition will highlight Austen’s and Turner’s work within their colonial contexts. Harewood’s colonial connections will be addressed alongside artwork and literature from a selected contemporary artist and a writer-in-residence. Turner’s paintings of Harewood and Harewood’s first edition copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (1811) will be on display alongside rarely seen artworks and loans from public and private collections.

The period in which Austen and Turner were active was fraught with political and social change, from the French Revolution to the Napoleonic wars, the abolitionist movement and the Peterloo Massacre.

These seismic events shaped the everyday lives of Britons and energised the nation’s artists, writers, and thinkers. The Romantic period saw numerous creative responses and contributions to the understanding of individualism, human rights, and emotion, alongside advances in medicine and science.

Travelling watercolour box owned by JMW Turner. Photo credit: ©Royal Academy of Arts, London Austen’s and Turner’s role as innovators within their respective fields will be acknowledged. Turner’s stylistic progress will be illustrated by a range of works spanning his career and paralleled with Austen’s pioneering, and at times experimental, literary technique that allowed vivid and intimate insight into the minds and emotions of her characters.

Austen and Turner is a significant collaborative exhibition and research project between Harewood House Trust in partnership with academics and postgraduate researchers from the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies at the University of York, as well as independent curatorial consultant, Jade Foster.

Harewood’s first edition of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. HHT Rebecca Burton, curator and archivist, Harewood House Trust says; ‘The joint 250th anniversaries of these legendary artistic figures present an irresistible opportunity to celebrate and explore Austen’s and Turner’s interpretations of the British country house in tandem. People tend to associate Turner with landscapes and Austen with society, but we want to challenge that. We’re bringing together a remarkable group of artworks, objects, and manuscripts to draw out new and surprising narratives around their work, exploring how their artistic legacies have framed our understanding of the British country house – its people, interiors and landscapes. There has never been a better time to compare and contrast Austen’s and Turner’s creative legacies.’

Dr Richard Johns, Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, University of York adds, ‘Jane Austen and JMW Turner are giants in their fields, each inspiring countless books, articles and films. How is it they have not met before? This exhibition delves into what might have happened if they had, offering new insights into the worlds and works of both.’

Jane Austen, Sanditon autograph manuscript, 1817. Reproduced by permission of King’s College, Cambridge. Photo credit: DIAMM.

A VERY REGENCY YEAR

Harewood will present an Austen and Turner festival of events throughout the year to accompany the exhibition, including Pride and Prejudice outdoor theatre, extravagant balls and afternoon teas.

Turner-inspired artist-led painting workshops will be held in the ‘Capability’ Brown landscape, and a film festival of Austen-inspired classics ‒ some of which were filmed at Harewood ‒ is planned, as well as children’s arts and outdoor painting activities.

QUITE THE EVENT

Live the Jane Austen dream at Harewood’s Late Summer Regency Ball, which promises a night of grandeur, grace, and spirited dancing in the stunning surroundings of Harewood House.

Though this is Harewood’s first-ever Regency Ball, the house has played host to many. From recreating Princess Mary’s ball for Downton Abbey: The Movie to standing in for Buckingham Palace in ITV’s Victoria, Harewood has long been a setting for regal revelry. Now, it’s your turn to experience it for yourself.

With live period music from Regency Rejigged, a caller will guide you through the steps, ensuring all guests, whether seasoned dancers or complete beginners, can take to the floor with confidence.

This is a costumed event, and ladies and gentlemen are asked to dress in Regency or late 18th-century attire. September 20. Tickets, £75

Austen and Turner: A Country House Encounter is at Harewood House from May 2 to October 19, 2025. harewood.org