BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  And I am delighted to announce that on the £ note the great economist and moral philosopher, Adam Smith, will be replaced by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Why Turner? Turner is arguably the single most influential British artist of all time. His work was transformative. His influence spanned his lifetime and endures today. He inspired the French impressionists and, as Ruskin said, was “the father of modern art.” His works include masterpieces such as Dutch Boats in a Gale, The Slave Ship, and Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway. He captured the age of sail, of the advent of steam, the very atmospherics of the British Isles, and lines between light, movement and colour. And his influence endures. When Mark Rothko visited an exhibition on Turner at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he jokingly said: “This man Turner, he learnt a lot from me.” The Margate gallery shows Turner’s continuing legacy, with a number of exhibitions influenced by Turner, including that of the Danish artist Joachim Koester – The Other Side of the Sky – which pairs his works with Turner watercolours. Turner’s story begins with humble origins. Born to a London barber and wig maker, his talent was unquestioned. He went to extremes in pursuit of the visceral artistic experience. Turner exhibited at the Royal Academy at 15, and became an Academician at 24. He was undeniably prolific, producing more than 550 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours, and 30,000 sketches and drawings.
His work will now feature on another 2 billion works of art – our new £ notes. How did we decide? How did we arrive at Turner? As befits Turner, we took the process of selecting a new banknote character out of the black box and brought it into the sunlight. In December 2013, the Bank of England committed to making our character selection process much more open and transparent. First, the Banknote Character Advisory Committee was created and then decided the field of accomplishment. They chose visual arts, which had never before been properly displayed on a banknote. The Bank then invited the public to make nominations in this field. They proposed artists, sculptors, printmakers, designers, craftspeople, ceramicists, architects, fashion designers, photographers and filmmakers. Indeed, the response was exceptional. We received almost 30,000 individual suggestions, between them nominating 590 different eligible characters – demonstrating not only the depth of achievement of British art but also the public’s passion for it. This pool was handed to our expert Banknote Advisory Committee – John Akomfrah, Sir David Cannadine, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Sandy Nairne, Alice Rawsthorn, Baroness Lola Young, and, from the Bank, Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent and Chief Cashier Victoria Cleland. They used their considerable knowledge, supplemented with views from public focus groups, and whittled down to a shortlist of five characters. What were the criteria? 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  First, an unquestioned contribution to the visual arts. Second, a wider contribution to British society. And third, an enduring influence.