The Lost Turner Painting of Wenvoe Castle
ARTICLES of GENERAL INTEREST
THE LOST TURNER PAINTING OF WENVOE CASTLE
June 2024: Dyffryn Gardens Antiques Roadshow
Fiona Bruce introduced the show, saying “At the end of the show we have a fantastic surprise for you.”
Wenvoe Castle 1796
J.M.W. Turner had left Cardiff and was invited to stay in the Wenvoe Castle for a couple of days before heading off towards Mid and North Wales. The owner of the Castle hoped Mr Turner would paint the Castle for him and Mr Turner said he would do a watercolour. Over the next few days Mr Turner painted a picture of Wenvoe Castle from the front looking over the house and grounds but did not sign it. The picture was about 20 inches long and 15 inches wide and the painting hung in the Great Hall in the Castle until the great fire.
Wenvoe Castle 1910
Nobody knew how the fire started at the Castle. Once the fire got hold of the Castle there was no stopping it. Alice Wood and her husband Tom worked there, and together with other staff, risked their lives getting stuff out of the house to save for the family. Alice had run into the fire one last time to get the Turner painting off the wall.
Mrs Jenner, the lady who owned the Castle, gave away most of the burnt stuff to the staff who had risked their lives getting things out. Alice and Tom were given the Turner painting as they were going to be out of work for a long time. A letter of provenance was given to all the staff who had things from the house. The letter was stuffed down the back of the painting never to be thought about for a long time.
Wenvoe Village 2023
My name is Richard Clements. My grandmother died where she had lived, in Wenvoe, the village where our family had lived for over two hundred years. My mother had asked me to come back from London to clear my grandmother’s house and as I was clearing out the loft, I found an old painting of Wenvoe Castle. I showed it to my mother who said: “Your great grandparents worked at the Castle a long time ago.”
I took the picture back to London with me to show a friend in the art businesses. He told me to find a lawyer and get an expert to verify this picture as he was convinced it was a Turner painting.
Dyffryn Gardens Antiques Roadshow June 2024
Fiona Bruce: “And now we go over to our art expert with a find from a small village just down the road from here.”
“Well yes, it is a Turner painting,” said the expert.
“I would put a conservative estimate of around £2 million to £10 million on this painting.”
October 2024, Sutherby’s Auction House London.
The Lost Turner of Wenvoe Castle has just sold for £20 million.