Angel in the Sun: Turner's Vision of History

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Gerald Finley is professor emeritus of art history at Queen’s
University and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Angel in the Sun
is the second of his studies of the art of British painter Joseph
Mallord William Turner (commonly known as “Turner” due to his
pre-eminence in the field of historical landscapes). Although his study
is not primarily biographical, Finley points out that “biography
radiates through many of its chapters.” In expounding Turner’s
vision, the author shows him to have been a poet, painter, and
Renaissance man with interests in art, religion, history, poetry,
science, and technology. The book includes 16 color plates, 120
illustrations, extensive notes, a lengthy bibliography, and an index.

Finley’s interpretations of Turner’s work are astute, and his
style, while academic, is seldom esoteric and never condescending. Angel
in the Sun should appeal to anyone interested in visual art and artists
and their creative environments.