Constable's Year: An Artist in Changing Seasons

Owens explores how Constable’s rural background influenced his relationship with the landscape, and the paintings that were to emerge out of it. Owens argues that Constable’s life and work were unusually shaped by the yearly cycles of weather and agriculture. As an artist, his intimate, working knowledge of the land informed an honest portrayal of the countryside as a place of labour, rather than a romanticised confection. Dr Susan Owens, independent scholar and former Curator of Paintings at the V&A, is a writer and art historian. She has published widely on nineteenth-century British art and culture and has a particular interest in drawing and landscape. Also contributed to A View of One’s Own: Landscapes by British women artists, 1760–1860. Extent: 224 pp Illustrations: 61 Publication date: 2026-01-29 Size: 23.4 x 15.3 cm ISBN: 9780500028896