Attributed to JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. (English 1776 - 1837). Walton on the Naze, Essex. Oil on canvas. 7-1/4 x 12-3/4 inche...

Description

Attributed to JOHN CONSTABLE, R.A. (English 1776 - 1837)
Walton on the Naze, Essex
Oil on canvas
7-1/4 x 12-3/4 inches
On the reverse is an old faded handwritten label which was deciphered by an official at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1958 (according to the typewritten letter of that date which is also affixed to the reverse): This sketch of a Signal [illegible word] / at Walton on the Naze in Essex / is one of the first of Mr. Constable / a self-taught artist who / by the force of his ... [illegible word] / won himself the rank of a / Royal Academician. / He presented it to an Inhabitant / [of his] native Village East Bergholt / Suffolk by whom it was given to / the present [owner].

PROVENANCE:
Given by the artist to an inhabitant of his hometown, East Bergholt, Suffolk (label on reverse);
Given to another collector, East Bergholt, Suffolk (label on reverse);
Mrs. Gundry, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, by 1958;
Purchased by H. Darvell, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England;
Newhouse Galleries, New York, NY;
Mr. and Mrs. F. Howard Walsh, Fort Worth, Texas;
Walsh Family Art Trust

Walton-on-the-Naze is a small seaside town in Essex, along the southeastern coast of England. The Hanoverian tower that dominates the open area atop the cliffs was built over 285 years ago as a sea mark to assist ships navigating along the coast. The tower has long been a distinguishing feature of Walton-on-the-Naze, as the old, hand-inscribed label on the back of the present picture attests.

Like Constable's native Suffolk, Essex is a county in the region of England known as East of England. Constable traveled throughout these counties and by 1808, he began seriously executing oil sketches directly from nature. The present picture, with its loose and sketchy brushwork, has the appearance of such a spontaneous, directly painted study. The turbulent sky is reminiscent of Constable's cloud studies, which he began to execute in 1819.



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