Timeline of John Constable's life
1776
John Constable is born on 11 June in East Bergholt, Suffolk. He is the son of Golding Constable, a prosperous mill owner, and Ann Watts, daughter of an affluent London cooper.
1799
Enters the Royal Academy Schools as a probationer, after being released of his responsibility to the family business.
1800
Enrols as a student at the Royal Academy Schools.
1811
Exhibits Dedham Vale, his first major landscape, at the Royal Academy.
Dedham Vale, oil on canvas, 1828
National Galleries of Scotland, NG 2016
1815
Ann Constable dies.
1816
Golding Constable dies. Constable’s inheritance from his parents allows him to marry Maria Bicknell (1788-1828) following a seven-year courtship, which was disapproved of by her parents.
1817
Moves to London and rents a house in Hampstead every summer, in search of better air for Maria’s health. A son, the first of seven children, is born in December.
1819
Exhibits his first ‘six-footer’, The White Horse, at the Royal Academy’s Annual Exhibition. Elected an associate of the Royal Academy, at the age of 43.
1821
Exhibits The Hay Wain, the most famous of his canal series. Begins series of cloud studies.
The White Horse, oil on canvas, 1818–19
National Gallery of Art, 1942.9.9
The Hay Wain, oil on canvas, 1821
The National Gallery, NG1207
1824
The first of several stays in Brighton following medical advice to ‘try the sea’ for Maria’s health.
1827
Family moves to Hampstead permanently.
1828
Maria dies of tuberculosis on 23rd November, leaving behind John and seven children under the age of eleven.
1829
Finally elected full member of the Royal Academy at the age of 52, after multiple attempts over nine years.
1831
Exhibits his most ambitious ‘six-footer’ to date, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows.
The same year, Richard Cockle Lucas sculpts a small wax portrait of Constable.
Wax portrait of John Constable
Richard Cockle Lucas (1800–1883)
1832
Exhibits The Opening of Waterloo Bridge at the Royal Academy.
1837
Constable dies unexpectedly on the morning of 1 April at the age of 60.
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Constable Revealed
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