John Constable RA (1776-1837)

John Constable RA (1776-1837)
The Gravel Pits of Hampstead
Oil on paper laid on board, c.1820-22
18.1 x 25.8cm; 7 x 10¼in

Provenance:
Probably Charles Golding Constable (1821-1878);
Probably with Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell, London, 1890s (the above according to inscription to reverse);
Sotheby's, London, c.1952, where purchased by B. Y. McPeake;
And by family descent

“The world is wide. No two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of all the world … In a sketch, there is nothing but the one state of mind – that which you were in at the time."
-John Constable

The Gravel Pits of Hampstead is a previously unpublished oil sketch by one of the great masters of not only British but of European art, John Constable. Painted in c.1820-22, it depicts workers at a gravel pit on Hampstead Heath. The Heath and its surroundings were one of the mainstays of Constable’s art in the second half of his career. He first took lodgings there in 1819, in part to help improve the health of his young family. However, with its combination of panoramic views across London and the rustic ruggedness of its steep banks and hollows, the area also held great appeal to him as an artist. He spent most summers there until 1827, when he purchased a house in Well Walk that was to remain his home for the rest of his life.

It is Constable’s Hampstead period, alongside his time in Suffolk, which is most associated with the oil sketches, such as our painting, which today are amongst his most admired and best loved works. The Gravel Pits of Hampstead would have been executed in a single sitting and with its fluid, vigorous brushwork, it provides a fascinating insight into his working technique. Constable had the virtuoso ability to paint rapidly wet-on-wet, or alla prima, creating spontaneous impressions of the landscape around him. Constable painted these open air sketches in Hampstead, Suffolk and other locations until 1829, when he ceased the practice. These works were never intended for exhibition or sale, but instead he could refer back to them as he worked on larger compositions. In fact along the edges of our painting one can see the evenly placed pencil marks which indicate the artist intended to place ‘squaring threads’ in order to work up a larger version of the composition. There are also pin holes in the corners of the sheet, suggesting that Constable either had it pinned to a board whilst working in the open air, or that he had it attached to a studio wall as a compositional aid.

An inscription to the reverse of the board reads ‘This sketch on paper, formerly the property of Captain C Constable, son of John Constable was mounted on this card by Dowdeswell the picture dealer.’ The London dealers Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell did in fact purchase works by John Constable at his son Charles Golding’s posthumous sale on 11 July 1887, including lot 70 (‘Sketch of Hampstead Heath – 1821’), and lot 74 (‘Hampstead Heath 1823’), both purchased for £21. It is conceivable that one of these lots is the present work.

In the early 1950s the work was purchased by Ben McPeake, who was Managing Director of International Magazines, part of William Randolph Hearst’s publishing empire. The company published a number of titles, including McPeake's personal favourite, The Connoisseur magazine. McPeake lived for a time at Frognal House in Hampstead, and so it seems plausible that he acquired the present work, in part for the local subject matter.

Constable’s oil sketches have always been held in the highest esteem and, for some, are more sought after than his finished paintings. The landscape painter Frederick Richard Lee wished to buy some, and was refused, and Samuel and Richard Redgrave wrote that ‘Constable himself knew the value of such studies, for he rarely parted with them. He used to say of his studies and pictures that he had no objection to part with the corn, but not with the field that grew it’. The oil sketches were also hugely influential on future generations of artists, both in Britain and in Europe, and even 100 years after his death John Piper wrote ‘His sketches mean more to us today than his big paintings in the end; they are so complete, vivid and timeless. … Constable … deeply affected the course of the [landscape] tradition and made the Impressionist movement, and ultimately the whole of the modern movement, possible and necessary’.

We are grateful to Anne Lyles for her assistance in cataloguing the present work.

Please note, this painting is displayed in a loan frame from Douglas McLeod Framing Ltd. Salisbury. Should you wish to purchase it please contact a member of the Old Masters, British & European Paintings department.