John Constable, R.A.

Possibly in the collection of the aritst's daughter, Isabel Constable (1823–1888);

Possibly her posthumous sale ('The Property of Miss Isabel Constable, deceased'), London, Christie's, 28 May 1891, lot 127, for £2.15s.0d; or possibly bequeathed to her niece, Ella N. Mackinnon, née Constable (1865–1934);

With Agnew's, London (according to a label on the reverse);

Ernest Alfred Colquhoun (1852–1930);

Thence by family descent to a private collection;

With Albany Gallery, London;

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 23 November 2006, lot 87, for £60,000;

Where acquired by the present owner.

‘I shall shortly return to Bergholt where I shall make some laborious studies from nature’, R.B. Beckett (ed.), John Constable’s Correspondence, Vol. II, 1964, pp. 31–32

So Constable announced to John Dunthorne Senior in the spring of 1802. On stylistic grounds, this fluid plein-air sketch must have been painted around the same time, just as Constable was defining his position as a landscape artist. Constable exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy in 1802 and in the same letter to Dunthorne he wrote that although there were fine pictures in the RA exhibition ‘that bring nature to mind... there is room enough for a natural painture [sic]’. Constable was convinced that, only by long contemplation and study of his surroundings, could an accurate representation of nature be achieved. This delicate sketch, with its quick, deft brushstrokes, illustrates Constable’s study of his native Suffolk countryside and emphasises the ‘true originality’ which he was seeking. It is important to acknowledge, however, that despite his enthusiasm for work en plein air, his work was still very much influenced by the paintings of the Old Masters.

Through an introduction of his mother, Constable had formed a valuable association with Sir George Beaumont (1753–1827), and it was through this friendship that Constable gained valuable access to an extensive picture collection, which included the works of Claude Lorraine. Constable was clearly drawn to the work of Claude and a small canvas of Dedham Vale that Constable painted in 1802 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) directly echoes the composition of Claude’s Hagar and the Angel, which was owned by Beaumont. The focus of the present picture with the setting sun and its softly diffused light, further recalls Claude’s painting of A Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula, which hangs in the National Gallery, London. Nevertheless, Constable had always showed an independent inclination towards effects of light and shade, and his first recorded work in oil was Moonlit landscape with Hadleigh Church (Private collection).

This delicate picture belonged to Ernest Alfred Colquhoun, who owned a remarkable number of works by Constable, including pictures which had passed directly from the artist to Isabel Constable, his daughter.

Prior to the sale of this painting in 2006, Graham Reynolds endorsed the attribution to Constable on the basis of first-hand inspection and dated the work to 1802.