| Stratford Mill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | John Constable |
| Year | 1820 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 127 cm × 182.9 cm (50 in × 72.0 in) |
| Location | National Gallery, London |
Stratford Mill is an 1820 oil on canvas painting by the British landscape artist John Constable. It is the second painting in the series of six-footers depicting working scenes on the River Stour, a series that includes The Hay Wain.[1] The painting is now in the collection of the National GalleryinLondon.[1]
The scene is Stratford St. Mary about two miles west of East Bergholt.[2] Stratford Mill was a water-powered paper mill, located on a small island just outside the village,[1] it can be seen on the far left of the picture. Constable made a sketch of children fishing by the mill in 1811 now known as Anglers at Stratford Mill (private collection),[1] but this view extends to display more of the river, a barge and the meadow across the way.
After the success of his first 'six-footer' The White Horse, Constable abandoned plans to paint his large canvas The Opening of Waterloo Bridge seen from Whitehall Stairs, 18 June 1817, in favour of submitting a second Stour series painting.[3] Stratford Mill was exhibited at the Royal Academy exhibition in 1820 and was a success. The Examiner described it as having ‘a more exact look of nature than any picture we have ever seen by an Englishman’.[3] It acquired a buyer in the loyal John Fisher,[4] who purchased the painting for 100 Guineas, a price he himself thought too low.[5] He gifted the painting to his solicitor and friend John Pern Tinney.[3] Tinney loved the painting and offered Constable another 100 Guineas to paint a companion picture, Constable declined.[3] In the years to follow Tinney would have to put up with numerous requests from Constable to borrow back his prized possession for rework and exhibitions.[1] After Tinney's death David Lucas produced a mezzotint, which was published in 1840 under the name ‘The Young Waltonians’ in reference to the Izaak Walton book, The Compleat Angler.[1]
The full size oil sketch is held by the Yale Center for British ArtinNew Haven.[6]
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