John Constable - Stratford Mill [1820]

John Constable - Stratford Mill [1820], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

First exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820. Stratford Mill is one of six major exhibition paintings by Constable depicting scenes on the River Stour in Suffolk, a group which includes The Hay Wain. The watermill at the left, which was used for manufacturing paper, was demolished in the last century. After Constable's death, Stratford Mill acquired its more familiar title, The Young Waltonians, a reference to Izaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler.

Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk. He was largely self-taught, and developed slowly. In 1799 he was a probationer, and in 1800 a student at the Royal Academy schools. He exhibited from 1802 at the Royal Academy in London, and later at the Paris Salon. He influenced the Barbizon School and the French Romantic movement.

[Oil on canvas, 127 x 182.9 cm]