John Constable

by Anthony Bailey

  John Taylor, Records of my Life, London, 1832

  Flora Thompson, Lark Rise to Candleford, Oxford, 1939, reprinted 1973

  Walter Thornbury, Turner: 2 vols, London, 1862; 1 vol., London, 1877

  G.M. Trevelyan, English Social History, London, 1942, reprinted 1946

  Barry Venning, Constable, London, 1990

  Kit Wedd (with Lucy Peltz & Cathy Ross), Creative Quarters: the Art World in London 1700–2000, London, 2001

  R.J. White, Life in Regency England, London & New York, 1963

  William T. Whitley, Art in England 1800–1820, Cambridge, 1928

  William T. Whitley, Art in England 1821–1837, Cambridge, 1930

  Selby Whittingham, Constable and Turner at Salisbury, Salisbury, 1972

  Andrew Wilton, Constable’s ‘English Landscape Scenery’, London, 1979

  James Woodforde, ed. J. Beresford, Diary of a Country Parson, Oxford, 1935

  Ian Yearsley, Dedham, Flatford and East Bergholt, Chichester, 1996

  Arthur Young, General View of Agriculture of the County of Suffolk: London, 1797; revised edn, 1813

  G.M. Young, ed., Early Victorian England 1830–65 incl. article by A.P. Oppé, 2 vols, Oxford, 1834

  Exhibition Catalogues

  Constable: The Art of Nature by Leslie Parris & Conal Shields, Tate Gallery, London, 1971

  John Constable, with essays by Ian Fleming-Williams, Leslie Parris & Conal Shields, Tate Gallery, London, 1976

  Constable’s Country, introduction by Michael Rosenthal, Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, 1976

  Constable’s England, with essay by Graham Reynolds, Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1983

  John Constable, R.A., with essays by Julius Meier-Graefe, Graham Reynolds, et al., Salander–O’Reilly Gallery, New York, 1988

  Constable, with essays by Ian Fleming-Williams & Leslie Parris, Tate Gallery, London, 1991

  John Constable and David Lucas, with essay by Leslie Parris, Salander–O’Reilly Gallery, New York, 1993

  Brighton Revealed through Artists’ Eyes, ed. David Beevers, with essay by Ian Warrell, Royal Pavilion Art Gallery, Brighton, 1995

  Constable and Wivenhoe Park, J. Clarkson, N. Cox, M. Rosenthal, J. Nash et al., University of Essex, 2000

  Constable’s Clouds, ed. Edward Morris, with essays by John Gage, Anne Lyles, Martin Suggett, John E. Thornes & Timothy Wilcox, Liverpool and Edinburgh, 2000

  Constable: Le Choix de Lucian Freud, with essays by William Feaver, John Gage, Anne Lyles, Oliver Meslay et al., Paris, 2002

  Constable’s Skies, ed. Frederic Bancroft, with essays by Sarah Cove, Anne Lyles, Peter Power, Graham Reynolds & Conal Shields, Salander–O’Reilly Gallery, New York, 2004

  Magazines and Periodicals

  Apollo, LXXXI, 1965: R.B. Beckett, ‘Constable at Epsom’

  Burlington Magazine, October 1982: Adele M. Holcomb, ‘John Constable as a contributor to the Athenaeum’

  Burlington Magazine, March 1999: Anne Lyles review of Reynolds, Early.

  Burlington Magazine, September 1999: F.G. Notehelfer, ‘Constable and the Woodbridge Wits’

  Journal of the Warburg Institute, XX 1957: Michael Kitson, ‘Constable 1810–16’

  Oxford Art Journal, 19:2, 1996: William Vaughan, ‘Constable’s Englishness’

  Turner Studies, 8:1, 1988: Louis Hawes, ‘Wordsworth & the Age of English Romanticism’

  Index

  The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.

  All paintings are Constable’s unless otherwise specified.

  Abergavenny (ship) 93–4

  Ackermann’s Repository of Art 85

  AGBI see Artists’ General Benevolent Institution

  Agnews 318

  Albus, Anita 9–10

  Algarotti, Count Francesco: Essay on Painting 13–14

  Allen, Jane (née Watts) 14

  Allen, Thomas 14

  Allen, Lieutenant Thomas 77

  Allnutt, John 70

  Allston, Washington 103

  Alston, Edward 136

  Altree, W.W. 288

  Andrew, Reverend Dr James: portrait of (1818) 103

  Appleton, Mr (tub-maker) 154

  Archbutt, Samuel 308

  Archer-Burton, Lancelot (formerly South) 306, 308

  Arnold, Mrs Charles 89

  Arnold, J.W. 235

  Arrowsmith, John 123, 150, 152, 153, 154, 159, 164, 167, 210, 258

  Artists’ General Benevolent Institution (AGBI) 103, 110, 165, 178, 246, 253, 300–1

  Arundel Mill and Castle (1837) 297, 300, 305, 306

  Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 317

  Athenaeum 215, 248, 276, 291

  Atkinson, Christopher, MP 20

  Atkinson, Mary 310

  Austen, Jane

  Sanditon 146

  Sense and Sensibility 55

  Autumn Wood, An (1816) 85

  Aylesbury, Marquess of 152

  Baillie, Dr Matthew 137

  Baily, E.B. 100

  Bannister, Jack 168, 178, 226, 251, 286, 294

  Barge on the Stour, A (1827) 179

  Barge Passing a Lock, A (c. 1823) 138, 139

  Baring, Maurice xv

  Barnwell, Reverend F.H. 79

  Beauchamp, John: foundry 239

  Beaumont, Sir George 12; introduces Constable to Claude 12–13, 23, 29, 182; as mentor to Constable 13, 28, 36, 176, 234; as artist 39, 144; other protegés 46, 249, 250; relationship with Constable 13, 66, 142–3, 144–5, 152, 166; on Bourdon 267; erects memorial to Reynolds 288–90; death 176; bequest to Lawrence 209

  Beaumont, Lady 7, 12, 36, 142

  Beauvoir, Richard Benyon de 237, 243, 244, 245

  Beckett, Ronald: John Constable’s Correspondence xvi–xvii

  Beckford, William: Fonthill 141–2

  Beechey, Sir William 100, 220, 287, 306

  Bell, Clive 318

  Bell’s Weekly Messenger 122, 291, 303

  Berchem, Nicolaes 268, 272, 288

  Bickmore, W.E. 279, 283

  Bicknell, Catherine (Maria’s sister) 67, 83, 108, 121, 145

  Bicknell, Charles (Maria’s father) 8, 27, 49–50, 52; and Constable’s courtship of his daughter 50, 54, 55, 56, 62, 63, 74, 81, 84, 87; offended by Constable 70; inherits from Dr Rhudde 79; and his daughter’s wedding 91, 95; tries to influence Constable’s Academy election 91; gives Maria an allowance 96, 108; his Putney cottage 96; becomes godfather to the Constables’ first son 101; convalesces in Brighton 173; complains of being hard up 175; death 182; bequests to his daughters 182, 306

  Bicknell, Durand (Maria’s brother) 51, 145

  Bicknell, Maria Elizabeth (née Rhudde; Maria’s mother) 8, 27, 50, 51, 62–3, 68, 76–7, 79

  Bicknell, Louisa (Maria’s sister) see Sanford, Louisa

  Bicknell, Maria see Constable, Maria

  Bicknell, Samuel (Maria’s brother) 63, 108, 121, 145

  Bigg, W.R. 100, 154, 190–91

  Blackwood’s magazine 277, 305

  Blake, William 109, 112, 177–8, 251

  Bloomfield, Robert: The Farmer’s Boy 69, 128, 129

  Blower, Mr (headmaster) 4

  Boat-Building (1814–15) 73, 76

  Boat Passing a Lock, A (1829) 215

  Bogdani, Mrs (née Rhudde) 8, 50

  Bogdani, William 8, 50

  Boner, Charles: as tutor to Constable’s sons 203–4, 206, 240, 241, 242; as Constable’s factotum 239, 255, 262; Constable’s letters to 235, 244, 247, 252, 270, 271, 274, 283; becomes tutor in Germany 270, 312; regrets not being Constable’s biographer 312

  Bonington, Richard Parkes 111–12, 181

  Borrowdale… (1806) 38

  Both, Jan 272, 288

  Boucher, François 269, 272

  Bourdon, Sébastien 267

  Bourgeois, Sir Francis 34

  Bowen, Captain 179

  Boys Fishing (18
13) 65, 66, 67

  Bradstreet, Robert 16

  Brantham church, Suffolk: Christ Blessing the Children (c. 1804) 36, 43

  Bridge, The (View on the Stour, near Dedham) (1822) 124, 125, 135, 137, 150

  Bridgeman, Reverend George: portrait of 67

  Bridges, George, and family: portrait of 34

  Briggs, Henry 244

  Brighton, Sussex 153, 156, 157–9, 165, 168, 174, 185

  Brightwell Church and Village (1815) 79

  British Institution exhibitions 66, 137, 152, 206; (1813) 67; (1814) 70; (1819) 106; (1822) 123; (1825) 159, 164; (1828) 181; (1829) 194–5

  British Museum, London 14, 311, 317

  Britton, John 215

  Brookes, Joshua 28

  Brougham, Henry Brougham, Baron 226

  Bryan, Michael: art gallery 24

  Buckinghamshire (ship) 280, 281, 293, 294, 309, 313

  Burnet, John 53

  Byron, George Gordon, Lord 66, 151

  Cadogan, Lord 152

  Callcott, Augustus Wall 139, 177, 193, 292

  Canning, George 177

  Carlisle, Anthony 42

  Caroline, Queen 114–15, 226

  Carpenter, James 67, 120, 166, 215, 313

  Carpenter, William 215, 251, 272, 278, 306, 307, 308

  Carracci, Annibale 22, 267

  Cary, F.S. 311

  Cenotaph, The (1833–36) 237, 288–91, 289, 297, 317

  Chain Pier, Brighton, The (1827) 176–7, 181, 307

  Chalon, Alfred 191, 248

  Chalon, John 278

  Chantrey, Francis 171, 182, 184, 193–4, 248, 258, 287, 292

  Charles X, of France 160

  Chiverton, Thomas 225–6

  Christie’s (auctioneers) 246, 257, 316

  Clark, Kenneth 318

  Claude Lorrain 12–13, 82, 126, 267, 307; influence on Constable 13, 36, 52, 53, 71, 72, 176; pictures copied by Constable 18, 119, 143–4, 272, 315

  Hagar and the Angel 12–13, 23, 29, 182

  Landscape with Goatherd and Goats 143–4

  Liber Veritatis 211

  Clerk, Mr and Mrs Walter 103, 107, 284–5

  Cloud Study (with verses from Bloomfield) (c. 1822) 129

  Cobbett, William 115, 118, 274

  Cobbold, Elizabeth 16, 17

  Cobbold, Harriet 34

  Cobbold, Sophia 34

  Coleorton Hall, Leicestershire 12, 142–5; monument to Reynolds 237, 288–90

  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor 39, 40, 219

  Collins, William 111, 117, 177; relationship with Constable 111, 138, 163, 182, 195, 251; his work criticised by Constable 111, 251, 295; criticism of Constable’s work 121; on Constable after his death 252

  Colnaghi, Dominic: Constable to 187

  Colnaghi, Paul 150

  Colnaghis, the 214, 218

  Constable, Abram (uncle) 2, 6

  Constable, Abram (brother): birth 5; starts work in family business 17; as family intermediary and messenger 43, 51; and mother’s funeral 75–6; and Dr Rhudde 76, 88, 94, 95; deals with family affairs 86, 107, 109; portrait (c. 1806) 104; sets up house with sister (Mary) 104; and The Hay Wain 121; and agricultural depression 123, 135; praises Johnny Dunthorne 151; sends money to Constable 166; illness and his brother’s visit 172; tries to put Constable off from visiting 178; pleased by Bicknell bequest 182–3; cheerful letters to Constable 184, 187; visits Constable on Maria’s death 188–9; and Constable’s election 191–2; and death of his dog 198; advises Constable to make allowances for Golding 199; praises Mrs Roberts 202; has Constable to stay 225, 236, 274; cheers Constable when ill 229; as uncle 229, 241; and Charley’s schooling 239; receives Christmas port from Constable 246; and Constable’s reviews 277, 290; gets Charley posting on ship 280; brings linseed oil for Lucas 283–4; involved in ‘vast works’ on lock gates 284; and Mary’s land purchase 284; at Constable’s funeral 303; money owed to Constable 306; discord with nephews and nieces 309; has Alfred to stay 311; on his brother’s paintings 9, 243, 244, 313

  Constable, Alfred Abram (‘Alfie’; son): birth and christening 175; illness 176, 185; childhood 203, 230, 280, 311; education 239, 241, 282–3; in Hampstead 293, 296; exhibits at Royal Academy 311; death 312

  Constable, Ann (née Watts) (mother): marriage 2–3; and Constable’s schooling 4; her ‘connections’ 7, 11–12, 19; and the Dunthornes 10, 11, 68–9, 75; and J.T. Smith 17; her hopes for Constable’s future 8, 17, 58, 73; keeps Constable abreast of village news 20–21, 25, 43–4, 46–7, 74; portrait (c. 1803) 35, 35; worried about husband’s health 43; approves of Constable’s courtship of Maria 49, 57–8; recognises the importance of Dr Rhudde 50–51, 58–9, 75; maternal worries 51–2, 56; offended by Maria’s brother 63; stroke and death 75, 80

  Constable, Ann (sister): childhood 3, 5–6; and father’s death 86; runs dog kennels 87; invites the Constables to stay 94, 95, 98; and sale of family house 103, 104; portrait 105; as godmother to Maria Louisa 108; in a prickly mood 121; house burgled 135; apologises to Constable for ‘some passing clouds’ 188; praises Johnny Dunthorne 204–5

  Constable, Charles Golding (‘Charley’; son): birth 120, 162–3; childhood 144, 164, 166, 173, 203, 238, 240; portraits 238, 300; and Mrs Roberts 202, 309; tutored by Boner 203–4, 206; at school in Folkestone 206, 239–40, 241–2; interest in drawing 240–41, 311; goes to sea 279–82, 293–4, 309; marriages 309; children 309; friction with sisters 310–11; denounces Constable pictures as fakes 311; and his brothers’ artistic talents 311–12; approves of Leslie’s Life 313; on The Cornfield 170–71

  Constable, Emily (‘Emma’; daughter) 162–3, 173, 202, 203, 225, 246, 282, 284, 293, 310

  Constable, George (friend) 228, 241, 253, 257, 297, 316; Constable to 249–50, 276, 282, 290, 293

  Constable, Golding (father) 2; marriage 2–3; business 6, 11, 73; and Constable’s future 4, 8; and Constable’s artistic career 10, 15, 17, 19–20, 28, 29, 34, 42, 43; ill health 52, 56; repairs Dedham Mill 47; saves employee from press gang 52; sends Constable advice and cash 57; worried by criticism of Constable’s work 59; approves of his portrait work 60; further illness 74; makes a will 76; portrait (1815) 78; toasts Constable’s health 78; given private view of Wheat Field 85; illness and death 85–6

  Constable, Golding (brother) 3, 5, 9, 25, 36, 82, 103–4, 147, 180, 284, 303, 308; Constable’s letters to 151, 180, 189, 198, 199

  Constable, Hugh Golding (grandson) 311

  Constable, Isabel (daughter) 136, 153, 154, 173, 203, 222, 225, 284, 293, 311, 317

  Constable, John

  1776–1810 birth and christening 2; childhood 4–5; schooling 1, 3–4, 8, 203, 282; works in family business 8–10, 15; early illustrations 9; adolescence 10, 11; on painting expeditions with John Dunthorne (q.v.) 10–11; and his mother’s contacts 11–12; introduced to Sir George Beaumont and Claude (qq.v.) 12–13; early landscape 13; early influences and mentors 13–17, 19; introduced to Farington (q.v.) 17; becomes Probationer at Royal Academy 18, see under Royal Academy; relationship with Reinagle 18, 19, 21, 27; summer in East Bergholt 19–20; first year as Royal Academy student 21–5; paints at Helmingham Park 25–6; sees Maria Bicknell 26, 26–7; stays with sister and family 28; on Peak District sketching tour 28; at anatomy lectures 28–9; picture accepted for 1802 Academy exhibition 29 (for subsequent exhibition entries see Royal Academy: Exhibitions); advised against accepting post as drawing master 29; determined to study nature 30; suffers from neuralgia and toothache 30; voyage on the Coutts 32–3; critical of Academy art 33–4; sketches on Orwell River 34; paints portraits of villagers 34–5, and altarpieces 36; supported by relatives 36–7; success as portraitist 37, 38, 39; tours Lake District 37–40; friendships with Wilkie, Haydon and Jackson 40, 45–6; puts name in for Academy elections 40, 42, see under Royal Academy; support and criticism from his uncle 42–3; short of money 43; avoids military service 44; plein-air painting in Suffolk 44; stays with connections and relations 46–7; romance blossoms with Maria Bicknell 74–8; ‘finds himself’ as a paint
er 48

  1810–19 and ups and downs of courtship 49, 51, 54–8, 60–3, 64; copies watercolour of East Bergholt church for Dr Rhudde 51; paints at Bergholt ‘from nature’ 52–3; receives advice from uncle on 35th birthday 53–4; gets to know John Fisher (q.v.) 54; landscapes gaining approval 59; continued popularity as portrait painter 59–60; fondness for Johnny Dunthorne (q.v.) 60; and Charlotte Street fire 64–5; dinner with Turner (q.v.) 65–6; walks with Stothard 66; at British Institution banquet 66; finally free of debt 67; courtship continues 67–8, 69, 70–72; unintentionally offends Maria’s father 70; delights in Thames estuary 71; paints in East Bergholt 72–3; back in London 74; more frequent meetings with Maria 74; and mother’s death 75–6; and cousin’s death at Waterloo 77; hard at work in London 77, and East Bergholt 79–80; worries about Maria’s health and about money 81; and land enclosure at East Bergholt 82; breakdown of friendship with Dunthorne 83; offends Dr Rhudde 83–4; makes up mind to marry without further delay 84, 87; and father’s death and his inheritance 85–6; pre-wedding nerves 88; wedding 89–91; on honeymoon with the Fishers 92–4; back in Charlotte Street with Maria 94; apologises to her father but makes no progress with Dr Rhudde 94–5, 105; hunts for new home 96; with Maria in East Bergholt 98–100; dinner at Farington’s 101; and birth of first child 101; begins to think of pictures on a larger scale 101; sells landscapes 102; busy with portraits 102–3; elected to directorship of AGBI 103; sells The White Horse 107; inherits from Dr Rhudde 108; and second child 108

  1819–25 a ‘change of air’ in Hampstead 108–9; autumn in Flatford 109–10; finally elected Associate member 110–11; inherits from aunt 115; at George IV’s birthday dinner 117; takes Maria and children to Fishers’ 117–18; on sketching trips with John Fisher 118–19; reads White’s History of Selborne 119–20; and birth of third child 120; gets Johnny Dunthorne to draw wagon for The Hay Wain 121; in Suffolk at Easter (1821) 121; and French interest in The Hay Wain 122–3; money problems 123; with Maria on Hampstead Heath 123; commissioned to paint Manningtree church altarpiece 123, 134, 136; joins Fisher in Salisbury 124; draws boats for Fisher 125; ‘skying’ on Hampstead Heath 125–8, 130–32; buys Farington’s house in Charlotte Street 133–4; in court as witness against neighbouring bawdy house 134; and agricultural distress in Suffolk 135; and birth of fourth child 136–7; depressed and run-down 137–8; in trouble for repeating gossip 138; health and mood improve 139–40; stays in Southgate with Judkin 140; has ‘great row’ with Turner and Collins 140; visits Fisher 140–41; makes trip to Fonthill 141–2; looks after Fisher’s dog 142; calls on niece 142–3; stays with Beaumont at Coleorton Hall 142, 143–5, 146; suffers from neuralgia 145; worries about Maria’s health 145; recommends brother to Countess of Lysart 147; sells pictures 149–50; cheered by Johnny Dunthorne’s help and companionship 151–2; paintings successful in France 152–3, 159–60; sends Maria and children to Brighton 153, 154–6; leads split existence 153, 154; writes journal for Maria 154, 155–6, 165–6; suffers stomach pains 155–6; in Brighton 157–9; awarded gold medal by Charles X 160, 164