JOHN CONSTABLE RA (BRITISH 1776-1837)

JOHN CONSTABLE RA (BRITISH 1776-1837)
A River Landscape: A group of tall trees on the left, a bend of the river with willows on the far bank on the right, in the background a hill with a castle
Pencil on laid writing paper bearing the watermark of a crown above the letters JC in a double diamond, of paper maker Joseph Coles c 1805-1815.
17.7 x 30 cm (7 1/2 x 12 1/2 in)

Provenance:
Gregory sale, Sotheby's, 20 July 1949, Lot 61; private collection UK.

This drawing was sold by Sotheby’s as part of their important sale of Dr H.A.C. Gregory Collection of
John Constable July 1949.7 Gregory was renowned for his discernment, only having the best of Constable
in his collection: the Preface to the Sotheby’s sale describes “The Collection catalogued in the following
pages forms probably the most important sale of Constable’s works that has ever taken place, including
not only one of Constable’s great masterpieces but some twenty portraits and oil-sketches and some
sixty watercolours and drawings.” Reynolds records 28 works by Constable with an H A C Gregory
provenance, but these were only the works he had access to in the 1970s and onwards, some thirty or
more years after the Gregory Sale.

One suggestion for the subject matter of this drawing is that it is Framlingham Castle from slightly north
of west, seen from across the Mere., certainly the silhouette of the castle in the drawing shows great
similarity to that of Framlingham Castle, is only thirty miles north of East Bergholt. Framlingham Castle
was drawn by Constable on more than one occasion, but generally from closer to the castle, the first
time being in 1800 and then again later in 1815.

The paper was made by Joseph Coles at Lower Wookey Mill, Somerset. Coles ran the mill between 1788-1833. This watermark was in use from c.1805-1815. Watermarks from 13 different stationers and paper merchants. Amongst these there are many examples
of Constable working on a single example of a paper from a particular mill. John Constable used another
paper from Joseph Coles for a drawing in 1806, A Figure on a Roadway, watermarked JOSEPH COLES / 1804.

We are grateful to Peter Bower for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.