Hampstead Heath
(c. 1823)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
41.3 × 64.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1939
Gallery location
18th & 19th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This oil sketch was considered to be by Constable until two experts, Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams, questioned the attribution in 1992. Their judgement was made on seeing a high-quality yet small reproduction rather than the painting itself. It was then in very poor condition with a heavily discoloured varnish that has now been removed and the work has been cleaned. Close examination now reveals many details and fine touches that are reminiscent of, if not quirkily unique to, Constable’s many Hampstead oil sketches of the 1820s. Furthermore, the building on the left was demolished in 1834 and as Constable had few, if any, followers before then, and the painting does not appear to be a later copy, then who other than Constable could or would have made this work?
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
England
Accession Number
549-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Landscapes
Subjects (specific)
clouds grazing areas Hampstead (neighbourhood) heaths (landforms) London (inhabited place) sky United Kingdom (nation)
Movements
Romanticism (modern European styles)