Watercolour, A Dog Watching a Rat in the Water at Dedham, by John Constable, 1831

A watercolour of a brown and white dog crouching among reeds on a riverbank watching a rat in the water below. The verso bears a rough pencil sketch, apparently of a dog followed by a man.

Given by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist

Constable had taken his daughters to stay with his family in Suffolk, returning to London on 4 July, and it appears that this drawing was made when he went to fetch them back. He seems to have made it on a letter he started writing to his sons; on the other side of this sheet of letter paper is the phrase 'My dear Boys' in smudged ink in his hand.

Historical significance: Although Constable frequently included animals in his landscapes, animal subjects are relatively unusual in his oeuvre.

'In 1831 Constable exhibited at the Royal Academy 'Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows' (now in the collection of Lord Ashton of Hyde) and 'Yarmouth Pier'. He was present in the Abbey at the Coronation of William IV on 8 September (see No. 240 [218-1888]), and in the same month he paid a brief visit to Mr. Digby Neave at Epsom.'

[G Reynolds, 1973, p.202]

Although Constable often included animals in his landscapes, images of individual animals are unusual in his oeuvre. This lively depiction of a dog watching a water rat eschews the sentimentality that was to characterise much animal painting in the coming decades.

Constable probably made this watercolour while travelling from London to Suffolk to collect his daughters, who were staying with his family there.

235-1888