A Constable Connection

It was love at fi rst sight when Kalpana Sunder came across John Constable’s The Hay Wain as a teenager. On visiting the exact spot where he painted the masterpiece, she is transported to the 19th-century England that inspired his art.

- Kalpana Sunder

It was an impulsive decision to drive from London to Flatford, in Essex, for a long weekend. Drifting past rolling farmlands, chocolate box villages, and the charming town of Dedham, the journey became a discovery of the life of artist John Constable.

As a young adult, The Hay Wain drew me in. The painting makes you feel the idyllic English summer day: cotton candy clouds filling the blue skies, cattle grazing in the meadows, and the meandering river with wildflowers growing on its banks. Much later, when I saw the original painting at the National Gallery in London, I wondered where he drew his inspiration from.

This trip answered that question. Constable set up his easel along the River Stour at Flatford Mill (owned by his father), and sketched the historic artwork. In the painting, he depicted a hay cart with bright red harnesses on the horses, the browns and greens of the countryside, farmer Willy Lot’s house, and a dog running along the banks of the river.