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John Constable

Portrait of Mrs. Edwards
Now On View

Maker

John Constable (English, 1776-1837)

Title

Portrait of Mrs. Edwards

Year

ca. 1818

Medium

  • Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Oil on canvas

Materials

oil paint

Supports

  • canvas

Geography

Place Made: England

Dimensions

76 x 63.7 cm (29 15/16 x 25 1/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Corporate Membership Fund

Object Number

58.197

Type

  • Paintings

Publications

  • Books

European Paintings and Sculpture, ca. 1770 - 1937

Exhibition History

European Galleries
Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

Better known today for his dense, atmospheric landscapes, English artist John Constable at one time painted portraits as his professional bread and butter. Here he renders his subject with great sympathy, softly depicting her dark curls, fair complexion, and sweet smile. Skilled at portraying textures, Constable lavishly evokes the sheen of her striped dress and the laces that adorn her bonnet, shawl, collar, and cuffs. 

Few details are known about this commission—only that this sitter, Mrs. Edwards, and her mother were painted around the same time. 

–Maureen C. O’Brien, Frank Robinson Curator of Painting and Sculpture

Intermission
Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017
From the Reserve I
Paintings of Quality from the Museum's Collection
Apr 09, 1994 – Aug 03, 1994

Label copy

Constable is well-known as the leading master of English landscape painting. His fame as such has until recently overshadowed his achievements as a portrait painter. Though he rarely showed his portraits in the Royal Academy exhibitions and seldom commented in his correspondence on the over eighty he painted, they are distinguished by a lively, free handling of paint which gives the sitter a certain vitality and spirit. The subject of this picture is the daughter of Mrs. Tuder, whose portrait, also by Constable, hangs in the Cannon Hall Museum, Barnsley, England. Constable probably painted the two portraits at the same time in 1818.

European Painting and Sculpture, circa 1770-1937
Oct 18, 1991 – Jan 26, 1992

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

John Constable (English, 1776-1837)
Portrait of Mrs. Edwards, ca. 1818
Oil on canvas
76 x 63.7 cm (29 15/16 x 25 1/16 inches)
Corporate Membership Fund 58.197

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Feedback

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