The two large paintings on the far side of each fireplace in the Main Library depict the local beauty spot Plompton Rocks. 

J.M.W. Turner came to Harewood in 1797 at the invitation of Edward ‘Beau’ Lascelles, eldest son of the 1st Earl, who was one of his earliest patrons. 

During his visit to the North of England, Turner developed his interest in landscape painting as well as his technique with the medium of watercolour. 

These paintings are two of Turner’s earliest commissioned oil paintings and two of only a handful of pictures he painted throughout his career for a specific interior.