Two of Constable's drawings of Mistley, a river port near Harwich, are in the Museum's collection. This view of the approach to Mistley by river, made either in 1817 or 1819, depicts the town in greater detail than the earlier view (1813). In the distance can be seen the twin towers of Mistley church, which was designed by the eminent architect Robert Adam.
Physical description
A pencil drawing of a river, with three ships, their sails furled, receding into the distance. At lower right a man in a barge. The riverbank is wooded; the town of Mistley, with its twin-towered church, appears indistinctly in the distance.
Place of Origin
Essex, England (drawn)
Date
c. 1817-1819 (drawn)
Artist/maker
Constable, John RA, born 1776 - died 1837 (drawn by)
Materials and Techniques
Pencil and paper
Marks and inscriptions
'20', followed by an indistinct word
Dimensions
Height: 116 mm, Width: 186 mm
Object history note
This drawing, a page from a sketchbook, may have been made in 1817, when Constable is known to have made another drawing on the same site. Mistley Church, whose twin towers appear in the distance, was designed by Robert Adam.
Historical context note
In 1819 Constable exhibited at the Royal Academy 'A scene on the River Stour' ('The White Horse'), bought by John Fisher, and now in the Frick Collection, New York (see the sketch-book No. 132, pp. 66 and 70). His second child Maria Louisa (Minna) was born on 19 July. He took a house at Hampstead for the first time at the end of the summer. He was elected A.R.A. on 1 November.
[G Reynolds, 1973, p. 121]
Descriptive line
Drawing of a river scene at Mistley, by John Constable
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 121, 126
The following is an extract from the text of the entry:
Lt.-Col. C. A. Brooks has identified the scene as the waterfront at Mistley, with the twin towers of Mistley Church, built by Robter Adam, in the distance, right. Beckett has pointed out that a drawing sold as Lot 20 in the Capt. C. Constable sale, Christie’s 11 July 1887, was of Mistley and dated 20 August 1817. It is probably that No. 181 [620-1888] was made on the same visit.
Production Note
Drawing is listed under 189 in Reynolds catalogue, although there is a possiblity is dates from 1817; there is an indistinct inscription in the lower right corner that reads '20', followed by an indistinct word, which Reynolds guesses might be 'Aug'.
Materials
Pencil
Techniques
Drawing
Subjects depicted
River; Ship; Essex; Mistley
Categories
Drawings
Collection code
PDP
