Constable and Gainsborough Paintings in Ipswich

POSTED ON: 30/07/2020

Explore the paintings of John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough in Ipswich.

Christchurch Mansion, in Christchurch Park, is home to the world's most significant collection of Constable paintings and artworks; along with a rare selection of Gainsborough landscape paintings and portraiture.

Both the artists have a strong connection with Ipswich and Suffolk, and many of their landscape paintings are of the town or the surrounding countryside; some of these places you can still visit to this day.

Who was John Constable? (1776-1837)

Born in East Bergholt in Suffolk, Constable is one of Britain's most famous landscape painters, known for his revolutionary 'moody' style of oil painting. As a young artist, he went on amateur sketching trips in the Dedham Vale on the Suffolk-Essex border, giving the area the name "Constable County".

Who was Thomas Gainsbrough? (1727-1788)

Born in Sudbury on the western edge of Suffolk, Gainsborough is a famous portrait and landscape painter best known for his quick painting style and for being a founding member of the Royal Academy. Gainsborough moved to Ipswich in 1752 and made many paintings of the town and towns-people that he knew.

Here are 10 paintings by Constable and Gainsborough that are currently on display in Christchurch Mansion