Sketch for the Valley Farm
A view of Willy Lott’s House from the south bank of the River Stour at Flatford.
Believed to be the sketch for ‘The Valley Farm’ 1835 and a rework of an earlier piece from 1814 ‘The Ferry’ which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814 with mixed reviews.
- 106
- 1814 or 1835
- 25.4cm x 21cm
- V&A
- Oil on Canvas
- Oil on Canvas, 1814 or 1835, 25.4cm x 21cm, V&A
- Flatford
- Well Known
- 51.95846,1.02166
Details
‘The Ferry’ was Constable’s first large upright landscape painting and is currently on long term loan to the Tate from a private collector. However copyright restrictions limit us to show this particular painting in our catalogue of the artist’s work in this area. It takes its title from the boat which plied backwards and forwards across the Stour taking the most direct route from the far bank of the river to the bank of the mill steam by Willy Lott’s House*.
*Willy Lott’s House, originally known as Gibeon’s Gate Farm, was part of the Valley Farm and was lived in by Willy Lott (1761-1849) for 88 years, having only ever spent a single night away from his home during his lifetime.
Donated to the V&A by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist in 1888
*Isabel Constable was the last surviving daughter of the painter and gave the contents of her father’s studio to the Victoria & Albert Museum, making them the principal collector of Constable’s work which included 395 oil paintings, sketches, drawings, watercolours and sketchbooks.
- 106
- 1814 or 1835
- 25.4cm x 21cm
- V&A
- Oil on Canvas
- Oil on Canvas, 1814 or 1835, 25.4cm x 21cm, V&A
- Flatford
- Well Known
- 51.95846,1.02166