John Constable, R.A.

Charles Golding Constable (1821-1879), the artist's son;
Charles Eustace Constable (1874-1899) his son;
Probably his sale Christie's 16^th April 1896, lot 52 ('Summer Evening: Stormy Sky');
Bought in circa 1900 for the Muller Collection, Paris;
Thence by decent until circa 2000;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 7th June 2006, lot 190 (bt. for £295,000 by the present owner). 

The following report was provided by Sarah Cove who is the Accredited Conservator for the Constable Research Project. Sarah is an external specialist and is not an employee of Sotheby's. The support for this sketch is one of Constable's typical laminated wove paper supports (currently laid). There is a characteristic pinhole in the top left corner. The paper was prepared with a white oil priming which is one of Constable's least-used methods and results in a slightly 'blond' image that can mislead some viewers into doubting its autheticity. However, this white preparation is found in the large Ashmolean 'Sky Study' of 1822 and in several other smaller works including a similar sky study (below) that has just been cleaned and restored by this author after a private sale. The Sotheby's sketch is in exceptionally good condition with only one slight bend in the paper with a tiny amount of retouching in the upper left corner. There is slight abrasion to the surface in the thin washes at the top and the bottom of the picture, otherwise it is very well preserved. There is a thin discoloured varnish, but it should be noted that in this type of painting where there is thin, light, purple-toned paint that a thin yellowish layer of varnish and dirt will significantly reduce the subtleties of the original colouring. Cleaning is highly recommended to restore the original brilliant hues. To speak to a specialist about this lot please contact either 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."

This dramatic oil sketch showing the strong glow of the early evening sun in summer with threatening storm clouds in the sky belonged to Constable's son, Charles Golding.  It passed to his son, Eustace, and is almost certainly the picture which he sold in 1896, described as 'Summer Evening: Stormy Sky'.  Shortly afterwards it passed into the collection of the Muller family in Paris and has been untraced since then.  Painted circa 1825, it shows the influence of the cloud studies which the artist painted with such enthusiasm in the summer and autumn of 1821 and 1822 whilst he was staying at Hampstead.

Each summer from 1819 to 1826 (with the exception of 1824) Constable took his family away from the polluted air of London to rented accommodation in the country village of Hampstead set on higher ground.  Whilst he had at first made the move for his family's health, Hampstead Heath soon became a favourite sketching ground for him, as important to him as his native Suffolk.  The low horizon and the magnificent views provided the perfect stage for sketching skies and the effect of light and moving clouds over the countryside.  In 1826 Constable decided to move there more permanently, taking the lease of 6 Well Walk.  His letter on 28^th November that year to his friend Fisher put into words his appreciation for the area: "I am three miles from door to door-can have a message in an hour- & I can get always away from the idle callers-and above all see nature-& unite a town & country life" (R.B. Beckett, Correspondence of John Constable, Vol. VI, 1968, p. 228).  From 1824 he was also making periodic trips to Brighton where Maria was sent on account of her ill health, and this gave him further opportunity to study the effect of changing weather on the clouds and the sky.

It was during this time in Hampstead that he first made a number of sketches of sunsets, something he had hardly done since the few such studies done at East Bergholt in 1812.  The present picture can be compared to Hampstead Heath, Looking to Harrow of 1822 (Yale Center for British Art), as well as two later studies painted on or near the coast, Hove Beach of 1824 (Yale Center for British Art) and in particular Shoreham Bay of 1828 (Victoria and Albert Musuem).  This latter is also sketched on paper and shows a strong setting sun with elements of storm clouds in the sky.

We are grateful to Graham Reynolds, Peter Bower and Sarah Cove, for confirming their thoughts on this painting following first hand inspection.