Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead Heath (Primary Title)

John Constable, English, 1776 - 1837 (Artist)

Books
1824–25
English
oil on canvas
Unframed: 24 1/2 × 30 3/4 in. (62.23 × 78.11 cm)
Framed: 34 1/4 × 40 1/2 in. (87 × 102.87 cm)
49.18.4
Not on view
Constable sought what he called “natural painture”—painting that was free from the grandiose style displayed by other contemporary practitioners of landscape, especially his competitor Joseph Mallord William Turner. He instead aimed for realistic representations of ordinary landscapes. This artistic approach became particularly influential in France, where his masterpiece The Hay Wain received great acclaim at the Salon of 1824. Here, men dig gravel at Hampstead Heath, where the combination of ponds, spectacular views, and exhilarating air inspired his revolutionary cloud studies and dramatic, naturalistic landscapes.
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Collection
2011-2012: VMFA 75th Anniversary Statewide Exhibition, From Goya to Van Gogh, 1/7-3/30/2011, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Norfolk, VA; 3/31-7/13/2011, William King Regional Art Center, Abingdon, VA; 7/14-10/05/2011, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, VA; 10/6-12/16/2011, Daura Gallery, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, VA; 1/6/-3/11/2012, Radford University, Radford, VA

2003-2004: "Crossing the Channel: British and French Painting in the Age of Romanticism", Minneapolis Inst. of Arts, 6/8-9/7/2003, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10/7/2003-1/4/2004

2003: "Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics 1820-1840", Tate Britain, London 2/6-5/11/2003

1993: "Perspectives on Romantacism", VMFA, 4/29-7/18/1993

1991-1992: "The Rise of Landscape Painting in France; Corot to Monet", The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH, 1/27-4/29/1991, Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, 11/3/1991-1/5/1992

1991: "John Constable 1991" The Tate Gallery, London, 6/13-9/15/1991

1988: "John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837)", Salander-O'Reilly Galleries Inc., New York, NY 5/9-6/25/1988

1986: "John Constable", Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo 1/30-2/23/1986; Fukuoaka Prefactural Museum, 3/1-3/30/1986; Yamanashi Prefactural Museum of Art, Kofu, 4/5-5/11-1986; Sogo Museum of Art, Yokohama, 5/16-6/17-1986

1985: "British Painting", The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, Danville, VA, 6/7-7/7/1985

1983: "Constable's England", The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, April-September, 1983.

1976: "Constable: Paintings, Watercolours and Drawing", The Tate Gallery, London, June 1976

1973-1974: "John Constable, the Natural Painter", Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, 9/1973-1/1974

1969: "Masterpieces from Southern Museums", Norfolk Museum, Norfolk, VA November, 1969.

1950: "Paintings by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists", VMFA, 1950
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Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.