Mark Carney: Light is therefore colour

Remarks by Mr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, at the launch of the new £20 banknote, Margate, 10 October 2019.

It is a pleasure to be back at Turner Contemporary in Margate to unveil the new £20 banknote featuring JMW Turner.

Banknote character

Turner was a frequent visitor to Margate, drawn by "the skies over Thanet", which he held to be "the loveliest in all Europe". The East Kent coast inspired more than 100 of his works and this gallery stands on the site of Mrs Booth's seafront guesthouse, where Turner stayed whenever he visited.

Turner's contribution to art extends well beyond this stretch of shoreline. He was precocious - exhibiting at the Royal Academy at 15, and becoming an Academician at 24 - as well as prolific, producing more than 550 oil paintings, 2,000 watercolours, and 30,000 sketches and drawings.