The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-31 00:00:00

FUNERAL OF THE LATE J. M. W.
TURNER., B.A.

The remains of this distinguished artist were in-
terred yesterday in the catacomb. of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Precisely at 12 o'clock the precession arrived at the western
entrance, in the following order:
Hearse and four hones, with velvet hone-cloths and
plumes, containing the body in a splendid coffin, co-
vered with fine black cloth, upon the plate of watch was
the inscription :
" Joseph Mallard William Turner, Esq., MA.,
Died 19 Dec., 1501, aged 79 years."
Eleven mourning coaches and four followed, containing
the personal friends of the deceased, and the members of
the Itoyal Academy all wearing the usual insignia of mourn-
ing. In the first carriage were—Mr. Harper, chief
mourner, Mr. G. Joues, and Mr. Hardwicke. In the
second—Messrs. Munro and Griffiths. In the third—Sir C.
Eastlake, Mere. Mulready, Chalon, and Cooper. In the
fourth—Messrs. E. H. Bailey, C. It. Leslie, H. W. Picker
gill and Clarkson Staufield. In the filth—Messrs. Un-
ties, F. Wetherington, David Roberts, and C. Barry. In
the sixth—Messrs. John Prescott Knight, C. Landseer, T.
Webster, John Rogers Herbert. In the seventh—Misers.
Cope, Richard Westalacott, Grant, T. Creswick. la the
eighth—Mr. Richard Redgraye, DeNtayo, Messrs. floisma
Alexander Hart, and Cockerell. la the ninth—Messrs. Cop-
ley, Fielding and llaghe, Col. Thwaites, and Mr. Winans.
is the tenth—Messrs. Ilardwicke, Kingsley, Stokes, sal
March. In the eleventh—Dr. Price, Messrs. Bartlett,
Drake. and Pound. Private carriages :—Mr. ltardwicke's,
Mrs. Francis Denby, Mr. Turner's housekeeper and Mr.
Harper's clerk ; Mr. Stanfield's, Mr. Chalon's, Mr.Windus's,
Mr. Pickersgill's, and Mr. Bartlett's.
The collie having been taken out of the hearse was covered
with a pall; Messrs. Creswick, Chalon, Roberts, Wither
ington, Mulready, and Stanfield officiating as pall-bearers.
The dean, Archdeacon Hale, the canon residentiary, at-
tended by the choristers of the cathedral, having joined the
funeral party at the entrance, a procession was formed,
which at ones moved up the nave, the choristers chanting
the burial service, as harniunised by Croft and Purcell, with
a singularly solemn and beautiful effect.
Tnmels had been arranged in the aisle close to the lec-
tern, upon which the coffin was placed, and the burial
service was alternately read by the Dean of St. Paul's and
chaunted by the full choir. The aisle was very mach
crowded; sad a conspicuous object of interest was the old
housekeeper of the deceased, who, clad in the deepest
black, sat close to the coffin and sobbed her responses to the
service. She hail been in Mr. Turner's service for fifty-two
years. According to custom the service should have been
chaunted over the grave, but the numbers of the choir
rendering such a mode impossible, it was, with the excep-
tion of the last verse, performed in the church, after which
' a procession was again formed, and proceeded to the crypt,
where the body of the deceased artist was laid in a grave
situated, as his last wish had pointed out, clew to that
which contained the remains of Sir Joshua lteyuolds, and
in the near neighbourhood of Sir C. Wren's. The Dean
then read the last verse of the burial services, which was
taken up and chaunted by a few of the choir, who had
descended with the procession, and the grave was finally
caned upon the great artist.
lf rumour may be credited, Mr. Turner ha• bequeathed
to the Artiste' Benevolent Fond Society the bulk of his
property, amounting, as some allege, to 200,00 W., or there-
abouts.
An additional proof that the welfare of British art was
the thought uppermost in his mind is found is that clause
of his will in which he has presented his fine collection of
pictures to the nation ; at the same time setting apart a suf-
ficient sum to erect a suitable receptacle for them, which
may enable, not only the public, but artists also, to have
tree access to them. 'lbis testamentary clause can be con t-
iered as little less than a protest against the continuance of
that rule of the Academical authorities, by which the por-
tion of the national collection which is contained in Marl-
borough House is closed to studious copyists.
He has acted wisely, we think, in ordaiuing the erection of
a separate gallery for his works. They have nothing in
common with the bygone race of landscape painters. It
was, in fact, his succentul endeavour to emancipate himself
from scholastic trammels and follow out the natural bent of
his genius, which may now be said to have upset their
imitations of Claude and superfetation. of Poulin, which
mark the decayed vigour of the whole of the last century-
men.
The benevolent artistic society, above alluded to, was
originally founded for the relief of distressed painters or
their widows ; and has had for the exponent of its practical
working and future prospects the lamented Sir Robert
Peel, who made one of his last :wad most forcible appeals to
public sympathy in its behalf.
It is said that the deceased painter, throwing aside that
sense of retirement which marked his actions while alive,
has directed a certain outlay to be made in order to raise a
marble monument to his memory over his remains in St.
Paul's Cathedral; should this turn out to be the case, let
us hope that it may lead to an amelioration of the style
of sepulchral monuments which is sorely heeded.