Description
An amateur meteorologist, John Constable was most at home painting meticulously observed cloud formations, weather conditions, and natural light effects. He believed an accurate rendering of these constantly shifting elements could convey his vision of the vitality and magnificence of the English countryside. Working from the summerhouse he rented at Hampstead from 1819–26, Constable painted a landscape focusing more on the dark rain clouds than on the laborers in the foreground, keeping the details of their backbreaking work at a picturesque distance.
Provenance
Painted by the artist for Henry Hebbert [1783-1864], London, United Kingdom, by descent to his son, Henry Hebbert (1828-1864); Henry Hebbert [1814-1893], London, United Kingdom (1864-1894); Cyrus McCormick Jr. [1859-1936], Chicago, IL, . (1894); (Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York, NY, 1958 sold to Leggatt Brothers) (1958-1959); (Leggatt Brothers, London, United Kingdom, 1959. (1959); Earl of Inchcape, London, United Kingdom by 1966. (by 1966); (E. V. Thaw & Co., New York. NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1972); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1972-)
Accession Number
1972.48
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 89 x 105.5 x 11.5 cm (35 1/16 x 41 9/16 x 4 1/2 in.); Unframed: 60.6 x 78.1 cm (23 7/8 x 30 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
