John Constable, R.A.

Anonymous Sale, London, Christie's 17th April 1964, lot 99 (bt. Agnew's);
Alan Rofe by 1964;
with Agnew's, London by 1965 (from whom purchased by the family of the present owner)

R. Hoozee, L'Opera Completa di Constable, Milan 1979, p. 96, no. 102;
G Reynolds, The Early Paintings and Drawings of John Constable, Yale and London 1996, Text Vol, p. 117, no. 07.12, Plate Vol, no. 685

PAINT SURFACE The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. This oil sketch on paper has been laid on Board. An indented stamp is visible in the upper left corner. There is slight billowing near the upper right corner and a few very small old dents and faint creases suggesting that it is not glued throughout. The old yellowed varnish was put on in the frame, and clearly the painting has scarcely been touched over time, either before or after varnishing. There is no sign of retouching or any underlying damage. The pencil drawing is visible in places. A little drawing pin hole can be seen in the far upper right corner, presumably made when the artist was drawing from life. This report was not done under laboratory conditions. STRUCTURE The paper has been examinaed by Peter Bower, who is an external expert and not employee of Sotheby's, and has a blind-embossed stamp in the upper left, which reads BRISTOL / Crown / PAPER. Bristol papers and boards were produced by many different stationers and artists' colourmen from c1790 onwards. Bristol Paper was one sheet of handmade paper that was given a particularly high glaze surface by being placed between two very smooth metal plates and passed through a set of glazing rolls. The finished board was then trimmed. This method of manufacture was originally developed for the production of playing cards, but soon became used for visiting cards and later in larger sheets by artists. Companies such as Reynolds, Turnbull and Creswick produced an increasing variety of products to satisfy a growing sophistication in their trade customers, colourmen like Reeves, Newman, Ackermann and Winsor and James Newton, who supplied both amateur and professional artists. The biggest suppliers to the trade of such 'London', 'Bristol' and 'Drawing' boards to the London market were Turnbulls, of Holywell Mount, London. Bristol Board was made up using two, three, four, five, six, even eight sheets of hot-pressed drawing paper, laminated together. Bristol Papers and Boards were very similar to the slightly more expensive London Boards and Superfine Drawing Papers. It has often been supposed that the distinction between London Boards and Papers and Bristol Boards and Papers, most of which were made by the same manufacturers, lay in the choice of papers: that the London sheets were made only from the finest Whatman paper and that Bristol papers and Boards utilized papers of a lesser quality. This may well have been the case in the earliest years of the nineteenth century, but recent research in the Archives of the Royal Society of Arts has shown various examples of such boards and papers that go against this interpretation, being made up of papers by very different makers. The biggest single distinction seems to have been in the quality of the glazing: with more care being taken over the finishing of the London brand than the Bristol brand. FRAME Held in a carved and gilded wooden frame. To speak to a specialist about this lot please contact Julian Gascoigne on +44 (0)207 293 5482, or at julian.gascoigne@sothebys.com, or Emmeline Hallmark on 44 (0)207 293 5407, or at emmeline.hallmark@sothebys.com.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted c. 1807 this striking portrait sketch demonstrates an intimate moment between artist and sitter. Although her precise identity has been lost, the pretty young woman in this portrait bears considerable similarities to the pencil sketches of Susannah Hobson (see Louvre sketch book, c. 1806 Ref. 8701), as well as the unknown sitter with braided hair in another pencil sketch also dated c. 1806 (Private Collection, see G Reynolds, op, cit., p. 92 no. 512 pl. 06.134).

The recent exhibition of Constable's portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in London confirmed that despite his affection and devotion to landscape painting, Constable was as quick to spot and spontaneously capture the beauty which surrounded him indoors. This most delicately painted oil sketch is a rare example of Constable's touching ability to portray female aquaintences with the utmost sensitivity.