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'''''The Lock''''' is an [[oil painting]] by [[English people|English]] [[artist]] [[John Constable]], finished in 1824. It depicts a rural scene on the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] in [[Suffolk]], one six paintings within the ''Stour series''. It hung in the [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]],<ref name=GuardSale/> but it belonged to the Baroness's personal collection rather than the main collection. It was auctioned for £22,441,250 at [[Christie's]] in London on 3 July 2012.<ref name="BBC-2012-07-03">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18692643|title=Constable painting The Lock sells for £22.4m|work=[[BBC Online]]|accessdate=3 July 2012}}</ref> |
'''''The Lock''''' is an [[oil painting]] by [[English people|English]] [[artist]] [[John Constable]], finished in 1824. It depicts a rural scene on the [[River Stour, Suffolk|River Stour]] in [[Suffolk]], oneof six paintings within the ''Stour series''. It hung in the [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]],<ref name=GuardSale/> but it belonged to the Baroness's personal collection rather than the main collection. It was auctioned for £22,441,250 at [[Christie's]] in London on 3 July 2012.<ref name="BBC-2012-07-03">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18692643|title=Constable painting The Lock sells for £22.4m|work=[[BBC Online]]|accessdate=3 July 2012}}</ref> |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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| The Lock | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | John Constable |
| Year | 1824 (1824) |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 121 cm × 140 cm (47.5 in × 56 in) |
The Lock is an oil paintingbyEnglish artist John Constable, finished in 1824. It depicts a rural scene on the River StourinSuffolk, one of six paintings within the Stour series. It hung in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum,[1] but it belonged to the Baroness's personal collection rather than the main collection. It was auctioned for £22,441,250 at Christie's in London on 3 July 2012.[2]
The Lock is painted in oil on canvas. It depicts a working rural scene from Suffolk, as a figure struggles to open a canal gate at Dedham Lock near Flatford Mill, to allow a lighter barge to progress on the River StourinSuffolk,[3] set under a towering tree and a dramatic, cloud-filled sky.[4]
The Lock is the fifth of six paintings that make up the Stour series of large-scale rural works, that Constable exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1819 and 1825. The painting is the only one of the series which remains in private hands, with the more famous The Hay Wain in the National Gallery, London.[1][4]
After its exhibition in 1824, The Morning Post commented: "Mr Constable contributes a landscape composition which for depth, sparkling light, freshness and vigorous effect exceeds any of his works."[1]
On the opening day of the exhibition, James Morrison (1789-1857) an inn-keeper's son from Balham Hill, London, and Basildon Park, Berkshire, acquired the painting for 150 guineas. Its ownership then progressed down through his family:
On 14 November 1990 it was bought as lot No.128 for £10,780,000 at Sotheby's auction in London, by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his wife Carmen "Tita" Thyssen. This set a record for a British work of art, which it held until 2006 when a view of Venice by J. M. W. Turner, Constable's rival, sold for £20.5m at Christie'sinNew York.[1] From 1992, the couple placed the painting on loan to their museum, the Museo Thyssen-BornemiszainMadrid, Spain.
In light of "a lack of liquid funds",[5] the Baron's widow decided in 2011 to sell the painting. It was auctioned for £22,441,250 at Christie's in London on 3 July, 2012, following a low estimate of £20million,[3][4] making it the joint fourth on the list of most-expensive Old Masters.[6] Museum trustee Sir Norman Rosenthal resigned in protest at the sale, saying that the decision to sell represented ".. a moral shame on the part of all those concerned, most especially on the part of Tita"[2]
