Constable Portraits: The Painter and His Circle

A sweet exhibition of the portraits of John Constable at the National Portrait Gallery .

The labels pointed out that Constable had been a direct contemporary of Jane Austen and I had a real sense at looking at an Austinian society. One picture “The Ladies of the Mason family” could have been the Bennett girls!

Alongside the portraits were small landscapes of views from houses in which he had lived. They reminded me slightly of works by Spencer plus Francis Bacon of gardens and views form houses in Hampstead.

Particularly poignant was the fact that Constable had been married at ST Martin in the Fields, which is of course one of the first things you see as you leave the gallery.

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Comments

Compton Verney said…
You might be interested to know that the exhibition is now on at Compton Verney in Warwickshire housed in a Georgian mansion alongside a display of Georgian Portraits. For more details see www.comptonverney.org.uk
29 June, 2009
Cathy Linacre said…
Thanks for letting me know. I've not made it to Compton Verney yet but have spotted the really interesting things you have been doing.
30 June, 2009
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