Skip to Main Content
  Navigation Menu
      Admission is always free

          Open today:10:00  to 5:00
          Directions
           Play Artle
        Visit
      Visit
          
            Getting Here
          
            Accessibility
          
            Tours, Guides & Maps
          
            Food & Drink
          
            Gallery Shops
          
            Visitor Policies
  
  Collection
      Collection
          
            Highlights
          
            Search the Collection
          
            Artists Search
          
            Acquisition Highlights
          
            Stories
          
            Games
  
  Exhibitions
      Exhibitions
          
            Current
          
            Special Installations
          
            Upcoming
          
            On Tour
          
            Past
  
  Calendar
      Calendar
          
            Films
          
            Performances
          
            Talks
          
            Guided Tours
          
            After Hours
          
            Fun for Kids
          
            Festivals
          
            Workshops
  
  Learn
      Learn
          
            Teachers
          
            Families
          
            Teens
          
            Adults
          
            Learning Resources
          
            Music Programs
          
            Film Programs
  
  Conservation
      Conservation
          
            Projects
          
            Publications
          
            Resources
  
  Research
      Research
          
            The Center
          
            Publications
          
            Make an Appointment
          
            Archives
          
            Library
          
            NGA Online Editions
  
  Support
      Support
          
            Donate Now
          
            National Membership
          
            Circle Membership
          
            Leadership Groups
          
            Planned Giving
          
            Major Giving
          
            Gifts of Art
  
  Shop
      Shop
          
            Books
          
            Jewelry
          
            Apparel & Accessories
          
            Kids
          
            NGA Custom Prints
  
  Play Artle
            Previous Menu
              


  Search
  Hide Menu
  
  Home>Plan Your Visit>Tours, Guides, and Maps>Self-Guided Tours>Audio Stop 206
      

      
      Search Audio Stop 206 Select LanguageEnglishChineseKoreanSpanishJapanese
 Your browser does not support this audio player. play pause skip backward 15 seconds skip forward 30 seconds
 We hover over a flax-yellow body of water lined with ships to our left and right, which are silhouetted against a moonlit, cloud-veiled sky in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon comes about a third of the way up the composition. The moon hangs to our left of center in the sky, its light reflecting on the clouds in a bright, hourglass shape to create a tunnel-like effect. The sea below turns from a gold color close to us to pale blue along the horizon. To our left, one ship with gray sails is cut off by the edge of the canvas and another, also with gray sails, is situated farther from us. A small, dark rowboat with two passengers moves between them. Light from the windows in buildings along the distant horizon to our left reflect in the water, and another building, a factory, spouts white flame from its chimney. More dark ships line the waterway to our right, their spiky masts black against the sky. Three flames, one orange between two pale yellow fires, flare in the darkness in front of the ship closest to us. The forms of men shoveling coal, crates, and barges are dark silhouettes against the firelight and smoke. More rowboats float among the boats in the distance. Near the lower right corner of the canvas, a broad, flat fragment of wood floats close to us. The hot orange and black on the right side of the painting contrasts with the silvery gray, light blue, and white that fills much of the rest of the composition. The painting was created with thick, blended brushstrokes throughout, giving the scene a hazy look. The texture of some of the brushstrokes is especially noticeable, as where the moon casts white light onto the water and in the clouds. The artist signed a buoy floating to our left with his initials, “JMWT.”
 Joseph Mallord William Turner *Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight*, 1835 Ecologist Joel Fodrie from the University of North Carolina’s Institute of Marine Sciences and Senior curator Franklin Kelly discuss Turner’s vivid depiction of industry and climate change in 19th-century England.
 Read full audio transcriptNARRATOR:
In northern England in the early 19th century, the River Tyne was used to transport vast quantities of coal mined nearby, out to sea en route to London. Joseph Mallord William Turner shows us men heaving coal by night, from flat-bottom boats, known as keels, onto tall-masted, seagoing ships. Smoke billows from fiery torches that illuminate their labor. Here’s curator Franklin Kelly:  
FRANK KELLY:
It draws me in most immediately by this remarkable display of moonlight. Where you see this not just in the sky but a line of reflected light on the water which draws you into the distance. The cooler light of the moon and the contrasting light of those torches immediately sets up a kind of visual pushing and pulling for our attention.  
NARRATOR:
Turner’s view is a romantic one – but the work happening on the river was, in reality, not as picturesque.
FRANK KELLY:
And of course in the 1830s, the Industrial Revolution was taking hold and changing England dramatically - and what was driving most of the engines of the Industrial Revolution? Coal.  
NARRATOR:
The coal transportation on the River Tyne would have had serious and lasting environmental impacts.
Professor Joel Fodrie of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an estuarine and fisheries ecologist – an expert on rivers.
JOEL FODRIE:
I'm certainly struck by these activities as they were happening in this painting. They did not have the data or the long-term understanding of the changes that we now are beginning to understand.
We have built ports, we have built seawalls, we have built big docks.  And so these are pervasive, and very profound changes to the form and nature of rivers and estuaries. These are acute local changes, that are happening everywhere.   
And so I'm struck by the shift in mindset and the things that we’re concerned about now in terms of environmental health, environmental quality, human modification of the planet.
Our economies are important.  Jobs are important - I look at this waterfront and I see jobs! And so trying to balance those things is really the fine razor’s edge that we seem to be on these days.
NARRATOR:
Turner’s striking painting gives us a glimpse into the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and raises questions on the state of the natural world, as the environment continues to evolve in response to human activity. West Building Tour: Featured Selections
 Enter stop number 
 Stop not found. Please try a different number.








Stay connected Learn more about our exhibitions, news, programs, and special offers.
 Email Address for National Gallery newsletter subscription


About About the National Gallery
    
        Stories
    
        Press
    
        FAQs
    
        Contact Us
 Plan a Visit Getting Here
    
        Accessibility
    
        Today's Tours
    
        Food & Drink
    
        Calendar
    
        Downloadable Map
 Get Involved Donate
    
        Membership
    
        Volunteer
    
        Opportunities
    
        Shop Online
 Resources Search the Collection
    
        Conservation
    
        Library
    
        Archives
    
        The Center
    
        Film Programs
    
        Music Programs
    
        Audio/Video
    
        Open Access Images


Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily West Building6th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter or exit from Constitution Avenue, 4th Street, or 7th Street. The Madison Drive entrance is currently closed. East Building4th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 4th Street. Sculpture Garden7th St and Constitution Ave NWEnter and exit from 7th Street, Constitution Avenue, or Madison Drive. We are closed on December 25 and January 1.
 The National Gallery of Art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity.


Twitter
          Facebook
          Instagram
		      Pinterest
          YouTube
 © 2024 National Gallery of Art   Notices   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy