John Constable, R.A. 1776-1837

Inscribed on the reverse: CJ

STRUCTURE Oil on original panel. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in very good original condition. There is some wear around the edges, presumably from an old frame, though this would be covered if the painting were to be re-framed. There are some light surface marks visible only on close inspection, which should clean off easily. The wood panel is visible where the paint is thin, to parts of the sky, but generally the paint surface has retained its depth well. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals the painting to be in very good original condition. Possibly except for one very small spot lower centre of the panel, which could also be dirt or varnish, there appears to have been no re-touching carried out. FRAME The panel is unframed.
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'My Salisbury sketches are much liked - that in the palace grounds - the bridges - & your house from the river - the moat - & c'

Constable wrote these words in a letter dated 1st September 1820 to his friend John Fisher. He had just returned to London following an idyllic six weeks spent with the Fishers at Leadenhall, a house in the south-west corner of the cathedral close, the use of which had been granted to Fisher when he became Canon in 1819. This period at Salisbury turned out to be probably one of the artist's most productive sketching trips and well over forty oil sketches and drawings are recorded from this period. The reference in Constable's letter to 'your house from the river' must refer to the celebrated large open air sketch formerly in the Salting Collection and now in the National Gallery.

The present sketch relates closely to the painting in the National Gallery though it is significantly smaller and differs in a number of details. Both pictures show the cathedral from the far bank of the river Avon looking east across the meadows. The National Gallery painting however shows Leadenhall itself, partly obscured by the large alder tree, whilst the small sketch is taken further to the right so that only a small part of the tree is shown with no sight of Leadenhall. Other differences include the arrangement of the numerous figures on the far bank, the appearance of the various trees to the left of the composition, and the position of the small rowing boats to the left.

The early history of the present sketch is unknown and as it is very unusual for Constable to repeat so exactly a composition, it might be tempting to look elsewhere for a possible artist. However there is a recorded copy of the National Gallery picture by Dunthorne, done for Fisher in 1827, which has none of the vigour of the present sketch, and what we know of the work of both Fisher and his sister Dorothea, do not suggest the same hand. It is hard to find another candidate for this sketch which is far from being just a slavish copy of the National Gallery picture.

We are grateful to Graham Reynolds for confirming the authenticity of this picture.