The Hay Wain

1821

CONSTABLE, John
1776 - 1837

NG1207. Presented by Henry Vaughan, 1886.

Signed and dated: John Constable pinxt. London 1821.

Constable's painting is based on a site in Suffolk, near Flatford on the river Stour. The hay wain, a type of horse-drawn cart, stands in the water in the foreground. Across the meadow in the distance on the right, is a group of haymakers at work. The cottage shown on the left was rented by a farmer called Willy Lott and stands behind Flatford Mill. Today, the cottage and river path are still much as they were in Constable's time.

Although the painting evokes a Suffolk scene, it was created in the artist's studio in London. Constable first made a number of open-air sketches of parts of the scene. He then made a full-size preparatory sketch in oil to establish the composition.

The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821, the year it was painted, but failed to find a buyer. Yet when exhibited in France, with other paintings by Constable, the artist was awarded a Gold Medal by Charles X.

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Learn more about Constable's oil sketches at the Victoria and Albert Museum
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Oil on canvas
130.2 x 185.4 cm.