John Constable
English, 1776–1837
Yarmouth Jetty
c. 1822–23
Constable once remarked that his seascapes were “much liked” by contemporary collectors, and he sometimes made several versions of a subject to meet high demand. The composition of this picture, and certain details, such as the red-capped man driving the cart, appear in at least two other canvases of similar size and date. The artist may have visited this resort town on the Norfolk coast only once, in the 1790s; decades later, he referred to sketches made during that visit to craft these paintings, another indication that he catered to collectors’ interests.
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 12 3/4 x 20 1/8 in. (32.4 x 51.1 cm) |
| Object Number | 2007.8.36 |
| Acquisition | Gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
John Constable, Yarmouth Jetty, c. 1822–23, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007.8.36
Select Bibliography
EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
The artist, possibly given to Gooch; possibly Dr. Robert Gooch (d. 1830, possibly bequeathed to George Jennings or to George Young);¹ Frederick Winslow Young, George Young’s brother, by descent (his sale, Rushworth & Jarvis, 30 Jan. 1857, no. 99, sold to Cundy); Charles Fishlake Cundy (from 1857); Rev. T. S. Cooper, his nephew, by descent; O. S. Cundy-Cooper, his son, by descent; Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill; [Agnew’s, 1949]; R. P. Silcock; Mrs. J. M. Stephens; [Leggatt’s, London]; Hon. Moira Nivison (1975–d. 1984);² private collection, by descent, sold to Manton, 11 Dec. 2000, with R. M. Thune as agent; Sir Edwin A. G. Manton, New York (2000–d. 2005); Manton Family Art Foundation (2005–7, given to the Clark); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2007. 1. The early history of the painting is somewhat unclear, as Constable himself seems to have suggested that it passed from Dr. Gooch to George Jennings (W. G. Jennings, 1763–1854), a friend and amateur artist. This may be an error for George Young, or the work may have passed from Jennings to Young, or the comment may refer to a different painting. See the commentary in Sarah Lees, Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2012, cat. 73, pp. 169–71, and Graham Reynolds, The Later Paintings and Drawings of John Constable, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 108–9. 2. From 1983 to 2000, the painting was on long-term loan to the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne.
