Rare Portrait Of Constable's Wife To Go On Sale In Chiswick

Three rediscovered works of the artist will go under the hammer

A rare portrait by painter John Constable of the "love of his life", his wife Maria Elizabeth Bicknell, is to go on sale more than 70 years since it was last seen in public.

The pencil drawing is believed to have been drawn shortly before her death from tuberculosis in 1828. It is expected to fetch up to £12,000 when it goes on sale at Chiswick Auctions.

It will go up for sale alongside a portrait of the artist's uncle, Abram Constable, which is valued at £50,000.

A third work to be sold is a sketched landscape worth £8,000 which has not been on display since the 1940s. It was put forward for verification by a private collector and found to be by Constable. Experts have suggested the castle in the background may be Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, which is 30 miles from Constable's Suffolk home at East Bergholt.

Dating from circa 1809, it is titled A Portrait of a Gentleman and is believed to be John Constable’s uncle Abram Constable of Wormingford (1742-1812), who lived ten miles from East Bergholt in Dedham Vale, Suffolk. It appears in the catalogue raisonné by leading expert on the art of John Constable, Arthur Graham Reynolds (1914-2013), published in 1996, where he confirms its title of Abram Constable of Wormingford.

Constable preferred to do portraits of his friends and family and when he painted their portrait, he put a great deal of significance and feeling into the character of the sitter. This comes through very much in his most intimate portraits where the relationship between artist and sitter can be felt. This especially fine portrait of his uncle Abram exudes enormous character. Not at all contrived or formal, there is an honesty and directness that gives the sitter great immediacy and presence.

Although Constable is known mainly for his landscape works, he produced over 100 portraits in his lifetime. The work comes from the private collection of the family of art historian Ronald Brymer Beckett (1891-1970). Beckett pursued his interest in art for many years, collecting drawings by English artists. He published catalogues of the works of William Hogarth (1949) and Peter Lely (1951) and curated an exhibition of the work of William Blake and William Hogarth at the Tate Gallery in 1951.

In 1956 he was instrumental in mounting and curating the exhibition John Constable 1776-1837, held at Manchester City Art Gallery. He loaned works from his own collection, including the portrait in the sale of Abram Constable and researched and wrote the catalogue.

Suzanne Zack, art expert at Chiswick Auctions, said the portraits had a "personal significance" to the painter, particulary the drawing of his wife.

"He made these sketches of her when he wasn't with her, to remind him of her.

Chiswick Auctions will be offering all three works for sale on 19 June.

May 30, 2019