First I will tell you a little about the artist, John Constable (1776-1837) who was born at East Bergholt, Suffolk. In 1799 he finally got permission from his parents to study art in London. Constable was not happy with his early work which he thought lacked originality, he wrote about his 1802 exhibition: 'I shall shortly return to Bergholt where I shall make some laborious studies from nature... There is little or nothing in the exhibition worth looking up to - there is room enough for a natural painter.'

Valley of the Stour with Dedham in the Distance

As well as natural scenes, buildings were also part of Constable's vocabulary. For example, the exterior of Sailsbury Cathedral, viewed from the south-west, partly obscured by trees. We saw both the final painting and the first sketch Constable worked from.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's grounds 1823

Personally, I was impressed by the large number of paintings in the gallery, and by their quality. I liked the way Constable flecked on paint as a finishing touch, which I felt made his paintings more life-like. All in all it was an interesting day, and well worth going.

The Hay Wain 1821