Produced by Al Haines [Illustration: cover art] MASTERPIECES IN COLOUR EDITED BY T. LEMAN HARE CONSTABLE 1776-1837 ====================================================================== PLATE I.--THE VALLEY FARM. (Frontispiece). National Gallery. In "The Valley Farm," exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1835, two years before his death, Constable returned to the scenes of his boyhood, to Willy Lott's house on the banks of the Stour. His hand and eye have lost something of their grip and freshness, but his purpose is as firm as ever. "I have preserved God Almighty's day light," he wrote, "which is enjoyed by all mankind, excepting only the lovers of old, dirty canvas, perished pictures at a thousand guineas each, cart grease, tar, and snuff of candle." The old Adam, you perceive, was still strong in him. [Illustration: PLATE I.--THE VALLEY FARM.] ====================================================================== CONSTABLE BY C. LEWIS HIND ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR [Illustration: title page art] LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK NEW YORK: FREDERICK A. STOKES CO. 1907 CONTENTS Chap. I. The Year 1824 II. The Brown Tree III. His Life IV. His Sketches V. His Pictures VI. His Personality and Opinions LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. The Valley Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece (National Gallery) II. The Hay Wain (National Gallery) III. The Corn Field (National Gallery) IV. Flatford Mill (National Gallery) V. Dedham Mill (Victoria and Albert Museum) VI. A Country Lane (National Gallery) VII. Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden (Victoria and Albert Museum) VIII. Salisbury (National Gallery) [Illustration: Constable] CHAPTER I THE YEAR 1824 John Constable was forty-eight years of age in 1824, a memorable year in the history of landscape painting. A date to be remembered is 1824, for in that year Constable's "Hay Wain" was hung in the French Salon. That picture, which is now in the National Gallery, marked an epoch in landscape art.