Joseph Mallord William Turner was a British painter born in 1775. He showed an early talent for art and was sent to school in Margate at age 11 to further his skills. By age 14, Turner was studying at the Royal Academy of Art schools. Within a year, one of his watercolors was accepted for exhibition at the Summer Exhibition. His first oil painting exhibited was Fishermen at Sea in 1796. Throughout his career, Turner's paintings became increasingly abstract as he sought to portray light, space, and nature. His revolutionary style was extremely influential on later artistic movements like impressionism and abstract expressionism.