George Constable of Arundel and members of his family fl. 1830's

approximately seventeen sketchbooks including drawings by George Constable, eight sketchbooks of Italian drawings in the style of James Holland and a further nine sketchbooks with drawings dating from the twentieth century
including view of windmills (15), Venice (24), Amalfi (10), Petworth, landcapes, tree studies, figure studies (20), marines, farm animals, portrait heads (6), children (3), peasant women (3), churches (3), Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore, Lake Como (2), Lugano (2), Honfleur, Le Havre, palm trees (3), Naples (2) Villequier (2), Rouen (2), women in Breton costume (2), Middleton Church (2), Weymouth, Pool Harbour from the golf course, the Purbeck Hills, the Osmington Mills, Ringstead Bay, Studland, Cerne Abbas, Portesham, the South Downes, Dunsfold, Chichester, Sorrento, Windsor Castle (2), Mannings Heath, Parley Church, Dorset and other subjects 

(35 sketchbooks)

George Constable lived in Arundel and worked as a brewer.  He combined brewing with a love of art, both as a collector and as an amateur painter.  His collection of watercolours included works by Copley Fielding, George Fennel Robson and William Havell and he also owned some oils by William Daniell (see John Constable's letter to Charles Robert Leslie, July 16th 1834; R.B.Beckett, ed., John Constable's Correspondence, Vol.III, 1965, p.111).  

George Constable was no relation of John Constable, but held him in great esteem and after their initial acquaintance towards the end of 1832, they formed a strong friendship.  A year later, on hearing that the artist was ill, George encouraged him to try a complete change of surroundings by coming to stay with him in Sussex.  The artist's son, also John, who was anxious to meet the man who had kindly given him a fine collection of fossils, travelled to Arundel first in July 1834 and was soon followed by his father.

During the two weeks John Constable stayed with George he travelled about various parts of the countryside surrounding Arundel, making sketches and, as his host afterwards revealed to Charles Robert Leslie, collecting specimens of sand and earth from Fittleworth Common, the colours of which fascinated him, and which he carefully stored in small glass bottles (see R.B.Beckett, ed., John Constable's Correspondence, Vol.III, 1965, p.110).

The artist was greatly impressed by all he encountered in Arundel and before leaving wrote to Leslie revealing how 'the castle is the chief ornament of this place - but all here sinks to insignificance in comparison with the woods, and hills.  The woods hang from excessive steeps, and precipices, and the trees are beyond everything beautiful: I never saw such beauty in natural landscape before.'  (ibid., p.111)

It is likely that, during John Constable's stay in Arundel, George accompanied him on some of his sketching trips, and a number of the drawings in the present sketchbooks are after drawings and watercolours by his distinguished namesake. Their friendship was based, however, on mutual admiration, as John revealed at the time to Charles Robert Leslie: 'our friend here Mr George Constable is a most sensible man in all matters of science and he has won John's heart...' (ibid.)