Early Life, Family and Training In a house on Maiden Lane, within the busy Covent Garden district of London, Joseph Mallord William Turner entered the world. His beginnings were rooted in the practical trades of the city; his father, William Turner, worked as a barber and wigmaker. This domestic setting was also a place of commerce, as William served as an art dealer, providing a young boy with an early, unforced proximity to the world of visual works. The boy’s talent was evident early on, and his father even displayed the child's drawings in the shop window to catch the eyes of passing cus…