This major exhibition explores the subject of sea in art from the 18th century through to the present day. For a city like Southampton, the sea is everything; the smell, the sounds the sites, the way it has carved and formed the local history and economy. Looking at Romanticism and Impressionism through to modern and contemporary works, the exhibition will explore themes of the sea, the docks, people, travel and Southampton as a port and place of departure. Works in the exhibition will recognise the functional relationships we have with the sea, but will also explore the romantic view we hold; the gentle waves, the stillness and the setting sun. Image credit: Fisherman upon a Lee-Shore in Squally Weather, oil on canvas, by JMW Turner, acquired in 1951.

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