J.M.W. Turner — The Sunshine Boy

Snow Storm — Steam Boat off a Harbor's Mouth Making Signals in Shallow Water, and Going by the Lead. The Author Was in this Storm on the Night the Ariel Left Harwich, 1842
oil on canvas
By the 1830s Turner was increasingly given to produce freely brushed, indistinct imagery that left his public utterly puzzled. On seeing this picture, one critic complained that "Where the steam boat is — where the harbour ends — which are the signals, and which the author in the Ariel...are matters past our finding out."

• Turner Show at the National Gallery : Review