John Constable
1776-1837 · British (East Bergholt, Suffolk) · Romanticism
Known for: Romantic painter of the English countryside whose Hay Wain and cloud studies revolutionized landscape painting
Constable painted the same Suffolk countryside obsessively, insisting 'painting is but another word for feeling.' He was the quiet counterpart to Turner's drama, loyal and stubborn and slow to gain recognition - he did not sell a major work until his 50s.
His wife Maria's death from tuberculosis devastated him. He was elected to the Royal Academy by a single vote at 52. French critics appreciated him before English ones.
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