Author(s): Martin Gayford and Anne Lyles

Art and Photography

'I've always thought that it was completely loopy for people to go on about portrait painters, English portrait painters, and not to have Constable among them' - Lucian Freud, 2002. Constable's sitters make up a 'Jane Austen' world, belonging to the middle and upper ranks of early-nineteenth century provincial society: clergymen and their wives, landed gentry and families wealthy from trade. From the outset, Constable was interested in landscapes but was forced to supplement his allowance by painting portraits. A number of these previously unknown works are featured in this accessible yet scholarly book, including family members, close friends and children, as well as commissioned portraits. Collectively, they provide a fascinating study of the period. This book and NPG exhibition(5 March-14 June 2009) seek to vindicate the view of Lucian Freud that Constable belongs an important tradition of British portraiture, to bring Constable's portraits back to the fore, and give them the critical acclaim that they deserve.