John Constable

John Constable, a corn merchant's son from East Bergholt in Suffolk, trained at the Royal Academy Schools and devoted himself to the countryside of the Stour valley around his home. He made open-air oil sketches and cloud studies, catching weather and light with flecks of white paint. The Hay Wain won a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1824 and impressed French painters, yet he sold little in England and became a full Academician only at 52.