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£20 note: new banknote featuring artist JMW Turner to be released in February 2020
THE new £20 note featuring artist JMW Turner will be released on February 20 next year.
The artist was an English landscape painter and is world-renowned for his oil paintings of the English countryside.
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Turner was selected after Bank of England governor Mark Carney asked the public to nominate a deceased cultural figure.
His life was turned into a film in 2014 with the actor Timothy Spall portraying his character.
The note will feature Turner’s self-portrait, one of his most well-known paintings The Fighting Temeraire and a signature from his will, where he left many of his paintings to the country.
It will also feature the quote: "Light is therefore colour", which comes from an 1818 lecture by Turner in which he referred to the use of light, shade, colour and tone in his work.
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The note will be made from polymer, the same material as other new notes, including Winston Churchill's £5 note, the Jane Austen £10 and the Alan Turing £50.
It will also be the most secure note yet, according to the Bank of England, by for the first time featuring two see-through windows and a two-colour foil.
The old £20 notes made from paper will be phased out after the new one is introduced, although the Bank of England hasn't yet announced when it'll be withdrawn.
Mr Carney said: "Our banknotes celebrate the UK’s heritage, salute its culture, and testify to the achievements of its most notable individuals.
"Turner’s contribution to art extends well beyond his favourite stretch of shoreline.
"The new £20 note celebrates Turner, his art and his legacy in all their radiant, colourful, evocative glory."
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The first polymer note was introduced in 2016 and it was the £5 note featuring Winston Churchill.
In July this year, code breaker Alan Turing who helped win WW2 was revealed as the new face of the plastic £50 note.
Plus, we explain how to change old £5 and £10 notes for cash – with over 212million old notes still in circulation.
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