A review of the exhibiton: Late Constable at the Royal Academy London. It explores the family background of the artist, his career development, working methods and technique; noted works including The Leaping Horse, Cottage in East Bergholt, Rainstorm at Sea, Chain Pier Brighton, Stonehenge and The Cornfield..It includes essays by Edward Lucie- Smith (John Constable 2006) and Janet Barber (John Constable: Earth and Sky 2012)
’In his own lifetime, Constable was constantly struggling to catch up with his great rival, J.M.W. Turner, whose astonishing fluency he could never match. Turner has maintained his fame, but, among the British at least, Constable is now more intimately loved. People talk of the ’Constable country’ in Suffolk that he made his own artistically, and the images he created appear on calendars, kitchen towels and place mats. You don’t have to be an intellectual to love Constable’s work - in fact, it is probably better if you aren’t.’Edward Lucie-Smith