Latest news with #TheHayWain
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
John Constable's ‘The Hay Wain': A Landmark Landscape
The National Gallery, London, founded in 1824, celebrated its bicentenary in small exhibitions across the U.K. that brought the museum's most iconic paintings to an even wider British public. John Constable's 'The Hay Wain' (1821), the Romantic artist's best known landscape, revered in his native England as an authentic image of its rural countryside, was among the works acclaimed as national treasures, and is now back in London as part of the recently reinstalled collection. The peaceful, unassuming canvas's radically new technique, its profound redefinition of what landscape painting could be, and Constable's inherently moral approach to the genre's naturalistic representation would preoccupy him throughout his career. Constable (1776-1837) grew up in East Bergholt, a small village in Suffolk along the River Stour in East Anglia. His father, who had inherited the local Flatford Mill, plied his prosperous trade along the river's canals, which afforded his family a genteel country life. Though the artist studied at London's Royal Academy as early as 1799, he often returned to draw and paint the fertile green fields and placid river scenes that viewers recognized even during his lifetime as 'Constable Country.' After his marriage in 1816, however, he moved permanently to London, and was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1819. Constable also exhibited that year the first of his so-called Six-Footers, the monumental River Stour scenes that were painted in his London studio and were his bid for fame.
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Charming overlooked town surrounded by animal-filled meadows is day trip heaven
Few towns can boast a mummified cat and the decapitated head of an Archbishop among their tourist attractions. Fewer still were home to one of Britain's greatest painters, and are surrounded by ancient commonland where cows freely pasture. Sudbury is a beautiful town with a rich industrial and cultural history, yet like many of the sweet settlements in East Anglia, it suffers from its location. 'We're on the way to nowhere here. No one comes to Sudbury by accident,' a volunteer in Gainsborough's House Museum tells me as we admire the gallery's latest exhibition - a selection of 18th-century masterpieces borrowed from Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath. Sudbury's problem is that it's very much at the end of the line. The Gainsborough Line to be specific. You'll have to take the 50-minute train from London Liverpool Street to Marks Tey and change onto a three-carriage trundler, which emerges from leafy cuttings to ride high above the pastoral beauty of the Stour Valley on a 32-arch viaduct (the second largest brick-built structure in England) before terminating in Sudbury. It also finds itself competing with its neighbours in the informal 'great beauties of Suffolk' rankings. Seven miles up the road is Lavenham, Britain's best preserved medieval village where rickety houses dyed pink with pigs blood limewash line the streets. Over on the coast the pastel colours of Aldeburgh sit above a wide East Anglian pebble beach. The most direct competition comes 15 miles down the River Stour in Flatford, where John Constable painted The Hay Wain. Today the white mill that inspired the painting remains as it did in the early 19th century, like much of Constable Country does as it merges into Gainsborough territory while you make your way back west along the Stour River to Sudbury. Approached by foot, the town could exist at any point in the last thousand years, thanks to the meadow's commonland status which have kept this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty a haven for moorhen, field mice, collared dove and, as my niece kept pointing out, 'ducks!' On a sunny day a table up on The Mill's terrace is the best place to sit and watch the wildlife, the cattle roaming and the toddlers toddling by the water. When the sun is shining is also the best time to visit Gainsborough's House, due to the way the light bounces around its spacious galleries, filled, of course, with the artist's work, but also modern pieces responding to Thomas by the likes of Royal Academician Katherine Jones. After looking around, you could do worse than a cup of tea beneath the branches in the museum's garden. Other places in the town to enjoy a bite include vegan joint Cradle, brunch specialists Painters at the Angel and, as everyone I met kept recommending, The Henny Swan. The 17th-century pub is an hour's walk out of town along the Stour and rewards those who make the journey with a riverside garden and an esteemed Ploughman's. 'Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,' Ratty once opined to Moley in A.A. Milne's Wind in the Willows, and he is right. Happily, to this end, both the Henny and the Sudbury Boat House are on hand with cheap rowing boats, paddle boards, and kayak options, which can be used to travel between Sudbury's riverside pubs. Once you've done messing about on boats it'll be time to get down to the serious business of Sudbury's second and third most popular tourist attractions - the mummified cat and the head. The poor moggy is entombed in a glass cabinet at the Mill, where she was found during a conversion in 1971. It's likely that the cabinet had been there for 300 years, in line with an old Suffolk tradition that saw live cats buried in the foundations of buildings to ward off witches, warlocks, and fires. The head is arguably less sad but more appointment viewing. Simon of Sudbury was another local lad done good, the wise young man working his way up from Rector of Wickhambrook to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 14th century. Unfortunately, he took his seat and the role of Lord Chancellor just as the Government decided to pay off the King's huge war debts with a poll tax. In came the revolting peasants from the Home Counties, and off came Simon's head. Before the spike he was impaled on was used to hold up the later defeated People's Champion Wat Tyler, Simon's head was spirited away back to his hometown and tucked away in St Gregory's Church. Today, if you ask the caretaker nicely, they might get it out of storage and give you a look.
Times
30-04-2025
- Times
Five Great British landscapes that inspired famous artists
I like to credit my mum for sparking my interest in all things artistic. When we were children, she was forever making and painting things with my brother and I, or taking us on country walks to pick up conkers, toadstools, leaves and nature's other treasures to sketch back at home. But there are far more talented artists who've found inspiration in the Great British countryside. Notable artists have long reached for their easels to reinterpret Britain's beauty in two-dimensional form, from David Hockney's pop-art-colour paintings of the Yorkshire Wolds to LS Lowry's landscapes capturing scenes around Berwick-upon-Tweed. Perhaps the most painted corner of Britain — and one that I've wandered frequently — is Suffolk's Stour Valley, which gave rise to two of our most prolific landscape artists: Gainsborough and Constable. Later this year there is a landmark exhibition dedicated to Constable — and his contemporary, JMW Turner — at London's Tate Britain to mark the 250th anniversary of their births (£24; Follow in their brushstrokes to see these varied real-life scenes that were memorably captured on canvas. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Don't be surprised to feel a sense of déja vu at Flatford Mill ( If the cottage standing above its reflection looks familiar, that's because the scene has barely changed in over 200 years since John Constable painted it for The Hay Wain, his most famous creation. Similarly lovely landscapes across Dedham Vale, which straddles the River Stour, are captured in many a Constable painting, which gave rise to its nickname Constable Country. More contemporary attractions include vineyard visits to sip Essex-made wines (tasting tours from £30; and shoulder-dropping spa stays at Talbooth House & B&B doubles from £209 ( • Revealed: 100 Best Places to Stay in the UK for 2025 You might associate JMW Turner with Margate and its Turner Contemporary gallery (free; but the English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist took his early inspiration from the landscapes of Scotland, Yorkshire, the Lake District and in particular north Wales. Conwy Castle — looming above the River Conwy — became a favourite subject that Turner re-created in numerous paintings and sketches such as Conwy Castle. Admire it, as Turner did, from the riverbank, then tour its fit-for-a-king rooms and medieval battlements (from £11.80; before warming up nearby at the Castle Hotel, a 29-room, 19th-century coaching inn with a terrace for when the sun shines and roaring fires in the winter months. Details B&B doubles from £144 ( Eric Slater may not be a household name, but the scenery that inspired him is internationally famous. Where the South Downs meet the sea, Seaford Head's chalky hills plunge into the Channel — and the coastguard cottages on its eastern edge, with the Seven Sisters cliffs beyond, are East Sussex's signature sight. Slater faithfully captured local scenes as Japanese-style woodcut prints. Read the book Slater's Sussex and walk the two-hour, circular Slater Trail to see the locations that inspired him ( stay at Saltmarsh Farmhouse, a brilliant B&B within a walk of those cliff-side cottages. Hire bikes to explore Friston Forest and the flint-built village of Alfriston (from £18; B&B doubles from £165 ( • 15 of the most beautiful places in England The Glasgow Boys were a group of Scottish artists known for painting their subjects in situ, rather than working from sketches in a studio. Among them was James Guthrie, whose atmospheric landscapes are as notable as his better-known portraits (including one of Winston Churchill). The urban harbour he painted in 1893 for Oban is almost unchanged today. If you can tear yourself away from the spa and log-fire-warmed lounges the Oban Bay Hotel, which sits at the harbour's far end, you can take day trips by ferry to the nearby Isle of Mull; or walk to see two local landmarks: Dunollie Castle's romantic ruins and hilltop McCaig's Tower. Details B&B doubles from £150 ( • 12 of the best places to visit in the UK Joanne Short takes more of a contemporary approach to landscape art. Coastal spots in her home county of Cornwall become colourful works such as Sunny Seaside Flowers, St Ives (prints of which can be bought locally at John Dyer Gallery; same seafront scene is home in real life to Tate St Ives (£13; whose holdings span modern and contemporary collections as well as the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden (£9). Find more treasures nearby at Leach Pottery's museum and shop (free; or even throw your own creations in a two-hour introductory workshop (£60pp). Bed down at the six-room Trevose Harbour House, whose best rooms have sea views. Details B&B doubles from £245 ( Have we missed any? Share your suggestions in the comments
New York Times
28-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Climate Activists Who Threw Soup at van Gogh Painting Are Changing Tactics
Just Stop Oil, the British environmental activist group known for attention-grabbing protests — including throwing tomato soup at famous artworks and spraying orange powder on Stonehenge — said it was ending such actions after a final protest in London next month. The group said on Thursday that it had achieved its primary goal of preventing new oil and gas licensing in Britain, and would soon be regrouping to plan its next phase of actions. 'We achieved what we set out to achieve,' James Skeet, a spokesman for the group, said in an interview. Here's what to know. The activists are known for attention-grabbing protests. Just Stop Oil activists made headlines beginning in 2022 for: throwing tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers,' gluing themselves to John Constable's 'The Hay Wain,' and smashing the glass that protected Diego Velázquez's 'Rokeby Venus.' The group has said that it used the tactics to convey the urgency of the climate crisis, and draw attention to the political and social changes needed to tackle it. The group has noted that its actions have not damaged the masterpieces, and that the works were specifically chosen because they were protected by glass. But critics have argued that some of the works' centuries-old frames were harmed. A wave of similar protest actions began in Paris when a man smeared cake on the Mona Lisa, and others occurred in Germany, Italy and the United States. Just Stop Oil, which also disrupted sporting events, awards shows and live theater, as well as spraying the monoliths at Stonehenge with orange powder, grew out of Extinction Rebellion, a British environmentalist group that promoted nonviolent protests to push governments to address the climate crisis. Officials condemned the stunts, and some activists got jail time. Politicians, museum managers and many others on social media have condemned the group's actions. In Britain, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Just Stop Oil 'a disgrace,' and Keir Starmer, the current leader, called the group 'pathetic' after its Stonehenge protest. Many of the activists who participated in the 2022 protests at the National Gallery in London were arrested, and some were sentenced to jail time. A judge sentenced two of the activists who threw soup at the 'Sunflowers' painting to about two years in jail in 2024, and a protester who glued himself to the frame of another van Gogh work was sentenced to three weeks in prison in 2022. The case of the activists involved in the Stonehenge protests is ongoing. The activists who threw soup at 'Sunflowers' had their sentences upheld this month. But six activists who were convicted of conspiracy for blocking a major highway near London in 2022 during a Just Stop Oil protest had their sentences reduced. Mr. Skeet said 15 people were currently in prison related to Just Stop Oil protests and 16 others were facing sentencing in the coming months. The museum campaign also had its defenders. They argued that the actions drew needed attention to the climate crisis. It also sparked a debate about whether vandalizing art should be a vehicle for protest. They met their goal: a ban on new licenses for oil and gas. Mr. Skeet, the group's spokesman, said Just Stop Oil was narrowly focused on pushing for an end to new oil and gas licensing in Britain. The Labour Party, which swept into power last year, committed to a ban on new licensees for oil and gas, and doubled down on its pledge this month. The group's final action will take place in London on April 26, but the organization made clear on its website that it will be 'a lower-risk action, and we won't be pushing for arrest.' Mr. Skeet added: 'The idea around the strategy was to aim for a winnable demand and basically sort of prove the effectiveness of the tactics, essentially. We've done so. So now it's on to moving on to the next thing.' What's next for the group? 'My first priority is to take a break,' Mr. Skeet said. He said the last few years have exhausted many of the members. Mr. Skeet also said that the group's style of protesting has become increasingly criminalized since the organization first began. In 2023, a new law, the Public Order Act, gave the police in England and Wales more power to detain and charge protesters. Mr. Skeet said the group would need to 'assess the lay of the land' before regrouping for further action. 'Obviously the work isn't done yet,' Mr. Skeet said, noting that average global temperatures have continued to climb in recent years.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Previously unknown Constable work sells for £300k
A previously unknown work by one of the UK's best-known landscape painters has sold for more than £300,000 at auction, beating forecasts. The sketch by John Constable, titled Dedham Vale looking towards Langham, sold for £320,000 at a North Yorkshire auction house on Saturday, far surpassing its estimated price of £150,000-£200,000. The work, which is believed to have been painted between 1809-14, had been kept in a private family collection before being put up for sale at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn. Jane Tennant, director and auctioneer at Tennants, said the discovery of the painting had been a source of "great excitement" in the auction world. She said: "It's certainly exciting that it's a painting that hasn't previously been recorded in any of the Constable literature." Constable, who died aged 60 in 1837, lived and painted in the Dedham Vale on the border of Essex and Suffolk, and is known for his depictions of the surrounding landscape. He is best known for his 1821 oil painting The Hay Wain which became a sensation in the art world after winning a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1824. Dedham Vale looking towards Langham, measuring 12in by 15in (30cm by 38cm), is thought to be the basis of Constable's oil painting Dedham Vale, which was completed in 1825 and is part of the Scottish National Gallery's permanent collection. Ms Tennant said: "Oil sketches, much like drawings, have an immediacy – a direct link to the mind and working practices of an artist." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Constable sketch expected to fetch up to £200k Tennants Auctioneers
