J. M. W. Turner (1775--1851) is probably Britain's greatest painter. Both profoundly original and astonishingly prolific, he helped transform landscape painting into an expressive art form of enormous range and power. This book reveals the extent to which Turner wanted his paintings to communicate intellectually as well as emotionally and how he used landscape as a vehicle for deep ruminations on society, politics, and the human condition. Sam Smiles discusses and illustrates the whole range of Turner's work.