It was a spectacular coincidence!
We were visiting Suffolk for a specific event that we booked that is unrelated to art, and we were told that there is a Constable exhibition going on in Ipswich. And we were in time for no other than the “The Hay Wain: Walking Constable’s Landscape, 11 July – 4 October 2026 / 2nd part!
A picture, style, and a painter that I greatly admire, though I wouldn’t know much about at the time. I did not even know he was born in Suffolk!
I couldn’t be more excited and grateful.
For a friendly £10 ticket price, it was a no-brainer.
The park the mansion stands in is also spectacular. I must explore it another time, because sadly, on this occasion we couldn’t.
I was very happy to see two settings of chess-table on the path leading up to the mansion. Unfortunately there was nobody playing at the time/wanting to play, but perhaps next time. (The seats are comfy and pleasantly warm on a sunny day like we had!)
Inside this beautiful building full of friendly and helpful staff, you get to see a lot more than you bargained for, but we could only spend just a little time to explore:
Arriving to the main event in a separate floor separate room, this sight greets you:
Perfect temperature, dimmed lights (the photo is a bit over exposed by autoexposure – phone camera).
The receptionist of the exhibition offers you a little booklet of the current part of the exhibition (for free) that walks you through each section each showcase. Another plus!
Not just that, but a map of the landscape that he walked, snippets of information about each item, audio, and quotes from his letters to friends and families and teachers…
This booklet only could worth the £10 you paid for the ticket price – at least this is what I’m used to living in London.
This is my souvenir of the event, a treasure.
I would have loved buying the Constable book they offer in the shop but I promised to myself; no more books until I get through that ~20 that are waiting for their turn on my bookshelf.
It is interesting how much I can relate to artists when they talk about how they love every stump and stile and lane, among all other things.. I guess the artistic eye/mind/soul works similarly. Looking at nature, buildings, people, animals, landscape, or just snippets of each of these; you’d imagine them drawn, painted, recreated. My regret is that I don’t/can’t stop and sketch them, but I might just have time to take a photo with the phone, which is barely the same.
‘Every fine day makes me long for a walk…
I even love every stile and stump, and every lane in the village, so deep rooted are early impressions…’
1800, Constable writing to friend and mentor John Dunthorne
Slowly moving down the sections, taking it all in, my inspiration bar filling up rapidly. Can’t help but feel awe, admiration, love, nostalgia. And gratefulness to have been able to attend, and not miss this event.
Below you can see his palette, brushes, and method of making colours. It is unbelievable how much work it must have taken back then to create the right tone. Today we are spoiled with choice, and yet, I don’t yet put in the work to create; a shame.
His sketchbooks were also inspirational. The text of the display said he was always carrying one of these sketchbooks with him, and would make sketches everywhere. Another thing I envy… I’ve got small sketchbooks like this for the same intention, and yet I barely make the time, even when I take it with me on rare occasions.
I have to admit; I did not know The Hay Wain was this big. I read in the Impressionists book that this painting was a star in “The Salon” in Paris when it was first exhibited, admired by many, but that was about my knowledge of it.
You get to see more paintings from this area from him, more viewpoints of different parts of this spot and the building. Clearly he felt that this hub carries something that he must extract. He explored it enough that at the end he accumulated it into this masterpiece that boosted not only his career but continues to inspire so many. I read it somewhere in the exhibition that he was looking for spots like this, but whether he started using this technique after, or before, I do not yet know, but I am intrigued.
As an artist, again, I can relate. Sometimes even the most unremarkable thing or spot carries artistic energy that the right kind of skill could extract. Maybe not at first, maybe not at the tenth time. It was an interesting thought that had me wondered.
I’ve come to the last bit that I was grateful for and boosted my scoring of this exhibition even further: they included ambient audio of the landscapes where Constable created those paintings! How amazing is this! I always wondered when will google include ambient sound to street view? I love this concept!
Here is the link to his Youtube channel where you can listen to his work: Constable Ambisonic Youtube
And his website: Constable Ambisonic
Many thanks to all the people who made this exhibition possible!
Hats off to you all!
There is a lot more to see there. These were just samples! I recommend anyone who’s even half interested to make the trip!
(We went on the 30/08/2026)
viC