JMW Turner masterpiece sells at auction for £19m

One of JMW Turner’s greatest works to remain in private hands, symbolising a united Europe, has sold for £19m at auction.

The landscape painter’s Ehrenbreitstein, a view of the ancient Rhine fortress, was one of just six of his major works to remain in private hands.

Painted in 1835, the oil painting is a late Turner work which drew critical acclaim upon its first exhibition and sold at Sotheby’s on Wednesday night.

Ehrenbreitstein relates specifically to a series of sketches he produced during his third tour of Germany in 1833, when he travelled through en route to Vienna and Venice via Salzburg.

It was initially painted for Turner’s close friend and publisher John Pye as the basis for a large single plate engraving.

However, he was so enchanted by the beauty and symbolic resonance of the subject as it depicted a united Europe, largely at peace after decades of conflict, that Turner ditched plans for a watercolour and instead created the oil painting.

It was acquired by one of the artist’s greatest patrons, Elhanan Bicknell, who held it until his death in 1963 when the work went to auction.

It has since only twice appeared on the market, most recently in 1965 when it achieved a price of £88,000 – a world record for a Turner at the time.

The last recent major Turner oil painting to be sold at auction – Rome, from Mount Aventine, also painted in 1835 – went for a record £30 million.