Cloud Study

This work belongs to a large series of oil studies in which Constable recorded the sky at various times of day and under different meteorological conditions. Working from direct observation in the open air, he captures the movement of the clouds and shifting light. In this example, much of the pink-brown ground layer shows through, lending warmth and depth to this image of pure atmosphere.

Isabel Constable (?). C. R. Leslie sale, London, 1860 (?). William P. Frith. Paterson Gallery, London, 1928. Sir Farquhar Buzzard (?). Duveen. Henrietta E. S. Lockwood, New York. Bequeathed by her to The Frick Collection in 2001, in memory of her father and mother, Ellery Sedgwick and Mabel Cabot Sedgwick.

Source: The Frick Collection: Drawings, Prints & Later Acquisitions. Volume IX. New York: The Frick Collection, 2003.