A Man for All Seasons

John Constable was born two and a half centuries ago on 11 June 1776, and to mark the occasion, Thames & Hudson has published a handsome new monograph on the artist, replete with prints of his paintings. Constable’s Year by Susan Owens is divided into four sections: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. This structure is a bit of a gimmick, and it means the story has to jump around a lot, hopping from scenes of Constable’s youth to his late-life and then back again in the space of just a few pages. Nevertheless, Constable’s work was deeply connected to the seasons, so the theme is hardly arbitrary. Nearly all his pictures are set during spring and summer, his favourite time of the year for painting alfresco. Unfortunately, this was also when the Royal Academy held its annual exhibition, which forced him to travel into London when he most wanted to be traipsing through the English countryside. “Mill dams ... Willows, Old rotten Banks, slimy posts, & brickwork. I love such things,” he explained. “As long as I do paint I shall never cease to paint such Places. They have always been my delight.”