Constable rejected the formal rendering of nature practiced by artists before him, preferring instead to work in the open air and capture informally the changing weather and patterns of the landscape. He never went abroad, and some of his best work is of places that he knew and loved. This oil on canvas of "Shoreham Bay, Evening Sunset" shows a coastal path with people out walking and the sun setting in the distance. It is a fine example of Constable's extraordinary ability to capture light and mood, and a technique which though largely unrecognised during his lifetime, would become a major influence on the French impressionist movement.

155-1888

2006AN1952