The ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition, explores the work of one of Suffolk’s most famous artists – John Constable and opens at Christchurch Mansion’s Wolsey Art Gallery from 27 November 2021 to 24 April 2022.  The exhibition coincides with the 200th anniversary of The Hay Wain, one of Constable’s most famous works. It is also 200 years since the death of Suffolk artist George Frost, who was Constable’s early mentor.

To mark this significant bicentenary, the ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition explores Constable’s artistic roots, revealing stories about Suffolk artists, family, friends, and early supporters who provided him with the foundations on which his career was built. 

Four early Constable works recently acquired by Ipswich Museums, with support from the Friends of the Ipswich Museums, the Art Fund, and the V&A Purchase Fund, will also be on public display for the first time. The recently discovered artworks were found in a scrapbook compiled by Constable’s relations, the Masons in Colchester, and include a portrait of his brother Abram and early landscapes.