JMW Turner on next £20 note

Level 3 l Advanced
1 Warmer
Who or what is pictured on the banknotes in your wallet or purse?
Why are these people or things on the notes?
Are the people on the notes still alive?

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions below. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers are given to help you.

1. famous and admired for a special skill or achievement ____________________________ (para 3)

2. lasting for a long time ____________________________ (para 5)

3. a building with rooms for people to rent, usually for short periods only ____________________________ (two
words, para 6)

4. a sign of respect ____________________________ (para 8)

5. evidence that something exists or is true ____________________________ (two words, para 8)

6. bringing about changes ____________________________ (para 9)

7. printed, drawn or decorated in a very noticeable way ____________________________ (para 12)

8. left something to a particular person or organization in a will ____________________________ (para 12)

9. producing a lot of work ____________________________ (para 17)

10. the first people to do something important that is later continued and developed by other people
____________________________ (para 18)

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NEWS LESSONS / JMW Turner on next £20 note / Advanced

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JMW Turner on next £20 note
Level 3 l Advanced
JMW Turner to be face of next £20 note
Painter to become first artist to appear on
a British banknote after public is asked to
nominate deceased cultural figures
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
22 April, 2016
1 JMW Turner, one of Britain’s greatest painters,
is to be the face of the new £20 note, following a
nationwide vote.
2 It will be the first time an artist has appeared
on a British banknote, after the governor of the
Bank of England, Mark Carney, asked the public
to nominate a deceased cultural figure they felt
deserved the high honour.
3 Turner, renowned for his dramatic seascapes,
beat off competition from 590 painters, sculptors,
fashion designers, photographers, film-makers
and actors put forward by 30,000 members of
the public.
4 The list included Alfred Hitchcock, Alexander
McQueen, Derek Jarman, Laura Ashley, William
Morris and Vanessa Bell, which was then
narrowed down by a panel of artists, critics and
historians to a final choice of five.
5 The final five – Barbara Hepworth, Charlie
Chaplin, Josiah Wedgwood, William Hogarth
and Turner – were selected on the basis of their
“unquestioned” contribution to both the visual arts
and British society as a whole, as well as their
enduring influence.
6 Fittingly, the announcement of the new banknote
was made at the Turner Contemporary gallery
in Margate, which stands on the former site of
Mrs Booth’s lodging house, where Turner would
always stay when he visited. The announcement
was made jointly by Carney and the artist Tracey
Emin, who grew up in the town.
7 Carney said it had been “so important to get this
right and have a proper process that involved the
public,” adding that, far from banknotes being
purely a practical necessity, “if done
properly, they can be a piece of art in
everyone’s pocket”.
8 “Money is memory for a country and its people,”
said the Bank of England governor. “Banknotes of
the Bank of England are a celebration of the UK’s
heritage, a salute to its culture, a testament to its
great achievements, including those of its most
notable citizens. In short, money has not just
economic value, it has cultural value as well.
© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016
NEWS LESSONS / JMW Turner on next £20 note / Advanced
9 “Turner is arguably the single most influential
British artist of all time. His work was
transformative and endures today. And his work
will now feature on another 2bn works of art – our
new £20 notes.”
10 “The fact that we will have Turner on the £20 note
shows now that the British people are a nation of
people who appreciate creativity and appreciate
the arts,” said Emin.
11 The note will feature Turner’s 1799 self-portrait,
which currently hangs in Tate Britain, as well as
one of his most recognizable works, The Fighting
Temeraire, a tribute to the ship that played a
distinguished role in Nelson’s victory at the Battle
of Trafalgar in 1805.
12 Emblazoned on the note will also be a quote from
the artist – “light is therefore colour” – as well
as his signature, taken from his will, in which he
bequeathed many of his works to the nation.
13 The new £20 note, which replaces the one
featuring social philosopher and economic
theorist Adam Smith, will enter circulation by
2020. This is the first time the public have been
given a say over whose face appears on a
British banknote.
14 Carney overhauled the process in 2013, following
a high-profile campaign to ensure that women,
apart from the Queen, remained on banknotes,
after the bank decided to phase out the Elizabeth
Fry £5 note.
15 Historical figures were first introduced onto
banknotes in 1970. Turner joins Winston Churchill
and Jane Austen as the significant figures who
will feature on the new polymer notes – a
plastic-type material that the new notes will all
be made from – Churchill on the £5 and Austen
on the £10 note. Following in the footsteps of
Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry, the Pride
and Prejudice author is only the third woman to
be the face of British currency.
16 Turner was born in 1775 in London, the son of
a barber, and he entered the Royal Academy
Schools at the age of 14. It was 1786, when he
was sent to Margate, that his love affair with
painting and drawing the north-east Kent coast
began. He would return to that coast throughout
his life and it was where he painted some of his
most dramatic oils and watercolours, describing
its skies as “the loveliest in all Europe”.
17 Turner was a particularly prolific artist,
producing more than 550 oil paintings and 2,000
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JMW Turner on next £20 note
Level 3 l Advanced
watercolours over his lifetime. His life was also artist. Brilliantly, it is an official acknowledgment
the subject of a film, in 2014, by Mike Leigh, with of the immense historical value of the visual arts
Timothy Spall taking on the role of the to the UK.
complex artist.
19 “But it is also a stark reminder that we must
18 Victoria Pomery, the director of Turner place increasing value on our future as a nation
Contemporary, said: “The decision to celebrate of creative minds. We must invest to support the
JMW Turner, one of the greatest technical next great artists and innovators.”
pioneers in the history of British art, is
© Guardian News and Media 2016
extraordinary, not least because it has proven by
First published in The Guardian, 22/04/16
a public vote that Turner is the nation’s favourite

3 Comprehension check
Answer the questions with information from the article.
1. Which two of JMW Turner’s paintings will be on the new £20 note?
2. What other two things connected with Turner will be seen on the banknotes?
3. Where was Turner born and where did he begin to visit at the age of 11?
4. What did Turner paint with?
5. What did he especially love to paint?
6. What will the new banknotes be made from?

4 Research task
The people below were also shortlisted to be the face of the next £20 note. Match them with
their profession.
1. Alexander McQueen a. film director and producer
2. Alfred Hitchcock b. film director, gardener, author
3. Barbara Hepworth c. painter and interior designer
4. Charlie Chaplin d. potter who industrialized pottery
5. Derek Jarman e. painter
6. Josiah Wedgwood f. fashion designer
7. Laura Ashley g. artist and sculptor
8. Vanessa Bell h. comic actor and filmmaker
9. William Hogarth i. textile and wallpaper designer, poet, activist

10. William Morris j. textile and fashion designer, businesswoman

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NEWS LESSONS / JMW Turner on next £20 note / Advanced

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JMW Turner on next £20 note
Level 3 l Advanced
5 Group task and presentations
a. As a class, think of other deceased cultural figures who you would like to see on a new banknote. Your
teacher will write your ideas on the board. The banknote will be printed either in the country you are in
or in the USA.
b. Your teacher will allocate each of you one or two of the figures. Research them and present your
findings to the class. Talk about who they were, what they did and why you think they should be the
face of the new banknote.
c. Vote for your favourite.

6 Webquest
Type ‘Turner’ into a search engine and search for images to see Turner’s most famous paintings. Find out
where they are exhibited.
Find out more about the Turner Contemporary gallery mentioned in the article, its collections and
current exhibitions.
www.turnercontemporary.org/
Watch the trailer for the film Mr Turner here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yuanTQdAGc

7 Extra reading and viewing

You can see what the Turner £20 note will look like here:
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/22/jmw-turner-face-next-20-note-painter-british-banknote
Watch a video about beautiful banknotes – a piece of art in everyone’s pocket – here:
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/27/new-zealands-stunning-5-note-named-best-banknote-of-the-year
Read about the first woman to appear on a US banknote here:
www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/20/harriet-tubman-20-bill-andrew-jackson-alexander-hamilton

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NEWS LESSONS / JMW Turner on next £20 note / Advanced

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JMW Turner on next £20 note
Level 3 l Advanced
KEY

2 Key words

1. renowned
2. enduring
3. lodging house
4. salute
5. testament to
6. transformative
7. emblazoned
8. bequeathed
9. prolific
10. pioneers

3 Comprehension check

1. his self-portrait and The Fighting Temeraire

2. a quote (‘light is therefore colour’) and his signature
3. He was born in London in 1775 and began to visit
Margate in 1786.
4. oil paints and watercolour
5. seascapes and the north-east Kent coast
6. polymer, a plastic-type material

4 Research task

Teacher’s tip: Allow students to use the internet to

search for their answers and to find out more about the
people named.
1. f
2. a
3. g
4. h
5. b
6. d
7. j
8. c
9. e
10. i
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NEWS LESSONS / JMW Turner on next £20 note / Advanced

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