Luminous Turner images; Turner's Pictureque Views in England and Wales, 1825-1838, by Eric Shanes, introduction by Andrew Wilson. New York: Harper & Row. $29.95.

Someone is said to have challenged Turner: "I never see colors like that in a sunset." "Ah, madam, don't you wish you did?" he answered. It is of course the colors that give this book such obvious beauty. The soft golds and pinks, luminous grays washed into soaked paper, create a romantic dream of England and Wales that draws us into its atmosphere. The text that goes with these exquisitely reproduced engravings and watercolors (90 in color, 13 in black and white) is especially useful, explaining technique, quoting from Ruskin, and adding facts to nudge us into awareness. Altogether a be autiful book, and a bargain, too.