![\"Bristol](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1750425016_671_0_The-Rising-Squall.jpg\")
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery has failed in its attempt to bring JMW Turner’s masterpiece home(Image: Bristol City Council)<\/p>\nIt eventually sold for nearly eight times the expected price at auctionBristol Museum and Art Gallery has failed in its attempt to bring JMW Turner’s masterpiece home(Image: Bristol City Council)<\/p>\n
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery has failed in its bid to buy a painting by legendary artist JMW Turner, which was inspired by a visit to the city. The gallery’s defeat at auction has prompted calls for a mystery private buyer, who spent almost \u00a32m to secure the painting known as The Rising Squall, to loan it to the gallery for public display.<\/p>\n
The council-run gallery raised more than \u00a3109,000 from over 1,700 public donations through a campaign known as Bring Turner Home<\/a>, which allowed it to submit a \u201csubstantial\u201d bid during an auction at Sotheby\u2019s on July 2. The bid submitted by the gallery was significantly larger than the amount raised from the public, Bristol Live understands.<\/p>\n However, a private collector won the race to secure the painting, Turner\u2019s first using oil, which features a view of the Hot Wells spring and spa from the eastern bank of the River Avon. The unidentified winning bidder paid \u00a31.87m, nearly eight times the original estimate price, for the painting which was rediscovered in 2024 after being lost for over 150 years.<\/p>\n The money raised through the gallery\u2019s crowdfunding campaign will now be returned to those who donated. The museum’s curator of art Julia Carver said she was disappointed to miss out on the painting, but encouraged by the \u201camazing\u201d crowdfunding campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a disappointment that we were beaten at the auction, but we\u2019re not despondent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been amazing positive energy during this campaign and we\u2019ve had wonderful support from the city and beyond.<\/p>\n Bristol City Council<\/a> head of culture Philip Walker previously said the chance to buy the painting was a \u201conce-in-a generation opportunity\u201d<\/a>. Despite leading some of the crowdfunding efforts, the council said it would not spend its own money on the bid.<\/p>\n Ms Carver said that while it was early days she hoped the still to be identified private buyer would loan the painting to be put on display in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very soon to say, the new owner, we don\u2019t know who that is yet and it\u2019s really up to them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf they were open to it, we\u2019d be delighted of course. The painting was Turner\u2019s first experiment in oil and it was inspired by Bristol after his visit here in 1792, which is why we were so keen to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an obvious gift to Bristol really.\u201d<\/p>\n Bristol councillor Stephen Williams went a step further, saying he was disappointed and calling for the mystery buyer to have a \u201cgood look in the mirror\u201d.<\/p>\n