art critic John Ruskin, that “the skies over Thanet are the loveliest in all Europe”. Turner loved Margate; more than 100 of his works were inspired by the East Kent coast. He first visited the seaside town aged 11 when his parents sent him to school there. After returning to sketch the town aged 21, he became a regular visitor. He would often travel from London to Margate on a steamboat, prior to the development of the railway. It was the unique quality of light in this part of Kent that drew Turner back. His relationship with his landlady, Mrs Booth, who owned a guesthouse where the gallery now stands, was also clearly special to him – he began calling himself ‘Mr Booth’ after the death of her husband. Turner Contemporary has no permanent collection of its own, and only one permanent artwork - Michael Craig Martin’s Turning Pages 2011, which has been positioned in the ground-floor Sunley Gallery since Turner Contemporary opened. The neon work is a recreation of Craig-Martin’s first ever public commission for Margate Library in 1975 and was installed in the Sunley Gallery for Turner Contemporary’s opening in 2011. Recognition In November 2011, the venue received an award from the British Guild of Travel Writers, for an outstanding tourism project. Queen Elizabeth II visited Turner Contemporary on 11 November 2011, as part of a wider trip to Margate. Gallery References External links Turner Contemporary 2001 establishments in England Art museums established in 2001 Art museums and galleries in Kent Arts centres in England Charities based in England Contemporary art galleries in England Cultural infrastructure completed in 2011 David Chipperfield buildings J. M. W. Turner Margate